When The War Ends
by PsychicDreams
Summary: Chibiusa has only been home for three months and already she has a problem. Can the Senshi overcome the obstacles to stop the war and the obstacles in their hearts when someone unexpected shows up again? Early Story
1. Chapter 01: The Heartland

Author's Note:

This is my third straightforward fanfiction that isn't a crossover. The two crossovers I'm working on aren't finished and I don't know if they ever will get done. Anyway, I don't own any characters of Sailor Moon. If you want to read my other fanfics, they are called 'Time Dance' and 'When Angels Cry', by PsychicDreams (that's me). If you need to email me, contact me here: Guardian4@atlantic.net. Please put fanfiction in the subject line so I know what it's pertaining to. I use a little manga attacks in here, but not much so bear with me. 

Note: In this fanfiction, Naru and Umino do not get together. There is a specific reason for this later in the fanfiction, 'kay?

**                                                            Crystal Hearts**

_When The War Ends_

_Chapter 1: The Heartland_

The resultant blast knocked them off their feet and the little girl and baby boy began to cry. Smoke billowed up from the burning houses and dust fell in the Senshi's eyes, making it hard to see. 

"We need to get out of here. This is the perfect cover. They can't see through all this," Mercury gasped out.

"Neither can we," responded a very unhappy Uranus. 

"We can all make it back to the palace blindfolded from anywhere in Japan. Don't tell me we can't get back," retorted Mars dryly. Uranus had to concede that and they made a break for it while the enemy was in confusion. 

For the past five months war had been waged against the Earth. What was the most saddening thing about it all was that it wasn't just the Senshi and Crystal Tokyo. The child clutched her baby brother in her arms and buried herself in the protective embrace of Mars. Survivors after the initial attack and aftermath were few and far between. The Senshi had traveled all over the world gathering survivors, but all the countries except Japan had been decimated and had very few people left to save. After all, none had the Ginzuishou, Royal Family, or the Senshi to protect them.  They no longer searched the other countries though; they had gotten all the survivors and installed them in the palace, the only place left safe in the entire world. 

Neptune dodged a blast from a creature that had three legs on either side of it and had a humanoid upper body. It walked and ran slightly stooped over. She nearly tripped when the explosion hit the ground near her. Heat came off it in waves, searing her entire left side. She cried out and stumbled.

Uranus put her arm around her partner's waist and kept her running. 

The enemy came in all different shapes and sizes. Some were youma like in Queen Beryl's army, some were parodies of human beings, some were creatures that had more than two legs, and some were just plain monsters that couldn't be described. And above all, some were human beings. The Senshi could barely handle fighting just _one_! They had had to call in the Outers to help them fight and protect the Royal Family. And with no Sailor Moon…

Like a beacon in the darkness of evil, the crystal spires of the Tokyo palace rose above the horizon and gave heart to the Senshi. If they fought the five creatures pursuing them, they would die; they knew that without a doubt and they were tired and injured besides. Mars limped slightly, Jupiter had cuts all over her legs, Venus held her arm close to her chest in an effort to keep it still, and Mercury had a large gash running across her forehead.

The Outers, for all their experience over the Inners, even in the 30th Century, faired no better. Pluto's skirt was ripped from where she had torn at it to wrap it around her waist and the cut that threatened to bleed until she died. Uranus, too, was limping, yet not from a sprained ankle, but a broken leg. Neptune, in addition to the burns on her side, carried a pain inside her chest from two broken ribs. Saturn suffered breathing problems from an almost collapsed lung and leaned on her glaive heavily.

The barrier around the palace loomed in front of them and all the Senshi made a wild leap through it. Mercury, dizzy from her head, caught a blast of fire on her back and she fell to the ground just outside the barrier and did not move again. 

Jupiter, angered and scared, turned around as the next attack launched against the unconscious Soldier. "Jupiter Oak Evolution!" she cried. Her attack smashed into the incoming black lightning ball and knocked it off course. Grabbing her friend, she made a mad dash to the safety of the palace.

The enemy stopped attacking then, and left. They knew they could not get through or defeat that barrier. They had used all their magic against it and for a whole month had tried to physically fight their way through. It was for naught; they never even put a dent in it.

Luna and Artemis ran up to them silently. Luna took the injured Senshi to the medical wing while Artemis picked up the little girl and her baby brother and carried them to the areas they had made for the survivors. Upon learning that their parents were dead, Artemis left them in the care of Naru and Umino who had somehow survived the direct attack to their houses. They had been the first survivors that had been found.

Saturn sat on the bed and held her hands over her chest. They glowed a light purple and soon Luna could hear her breathing normally again. Thankfully, healing no longer made Hotaru so tired so she went around to the other Senshi.

She set her hands over Pluto's waist and healed her wound first, since she seemed to be the one most injured. She had just healed Uranus's broken leg when Neo-Queen Serenity entered.

She walked into the hospital wing and found seven of her eight warriors in partially healed condition. Everything about the Queen screamed anxiety. Early on into the war, she had tried to use the Ginzuishou and had been unpleasantly surprised to find that it had had no effect whatsoever.

"Have you seen Chibiusa, Luna?" she asked, her calm and soft voice edged with fear.

"No, Your Majesty. Why?"

"I can't find her."

Breath sucked in all around. This sounded so much like a repeat of the Dark Moon Family and Wiseman, even though that was years ago, that it scared them all. "We'll find her, don't worry Serenity," Jupiter told the distraught woman soothingly.

Neo Queen Serenity nodded and left the room. Saturn had just started walking toward Venus when a cry echoed and they ran to see what had happened. 

Princess Usagi, or Chibiusa, stood outside the barrier staring up at a man. He had a malicious smile on his face as he raised his hand. Purple light erupted and raced toward the girl at lightning speed. Neo Queen Serenity, seeing her daughter in such dire straits, ran in front and took the blast in the chest. She fell onto the ground, unconscious. The Senshi gasped as another attack followed the first, this time hitting King Endymion as he came out of nowhere to protect his family. 

All this happened in the blink of an eye, before the Senshi could react. Two precious seconds followed as Chibiusa, only home from the past for three months when the war broke out, could stare at her upcoming death. She could not become ChibiMoon nor Sailor Moon. She felt completely useless. She crouched between her parents' unconscious bodies, the skirt of her white dress in a pool around her feet, and looked up at the full moon, now looking a dark gray instead of shining its white light down on the Earth. She sent a prayer. _Please, goddess Selene, please protect us!_

Selene must have heard her prayer, for that is what Chibiusa called the next event. A miracle.

The seven Senshi burst from the shield, Mars in the lead and looking furious. "Mars Flame Sniper!" she cried.

It never reached him at all. Her eyes widened as her arrow, once straight and true, turned and slammed back into her. She did not even cry out as she hit the ground. 

Jupiter and Venus, whose arm was still in a sling for support since Saturn had not gotten a chance to heal it, attacked next. 

"Venus Love and Beauty Shock!" A heart formed in her hand and more spiraled around her. They all came together and one large heart flew at the man.

"Sparkling Wide Pressure!" Lighting formed in Jupiter's hands and condensed into a bolt. She threw this at him with all of her strength.

Both bounced off his shield. He laughed in their faces and the ground erupted at the two Senshi's feet. Large chunks of rock and earth hit their heads, knocking them out cold and aggravating their other injuries.

Uranus and Neptune double-teamed him with their attacks from the talismans, but the power in them would not touch the man. Even he was surprised, but not for long. With a blast, they hit the ground hard.

"Dead Scream!"

The purple planet that came from Pluto's time staff hit him in the chest and he winced. Burn scars were apparent under the little remains of his shirt left after the attack had hit. He glared at her. With a thick ray of purple light, she slammed into the broken stone wall of a nearby house.

Smiling, he aimed a blast at the Royal Family again. 

"Silent Wall!"

The man's attack slammed into Saturn's barrier. "Get them back inside the palace!" she screamed over the noise of the crashing powers. 

The two Mau cats, still in human form, came running and dragged the Soldiers and Royal Family inside, but Chibiusa refused to leave her friend. "Go!" she told the princess. The authority in 9-year-old Hotaru's voice did not faze Chibiusa, though it paused Luna and Artemis. They had never heard her talk like that to anyone before, especially not a member of the Royal Family.

Saturn gave a growl of frustration and grabbed Chibiusa around her waist. The glaive gave a burst of white light, which blinded the man and gave the two time to get inside the barrier. 

In silence, all the injured Soldiers proceeded to the medical quarters of the palace in the tall main spire of the Crystal Palace. The smaller, outward peaks of crystal were the sleeping and rec room quarters for the Senshi, Royal Family, and other inhabitants in the palace. 

Now in the tall, straight spire all the survivors settled uneasily. They had had to make due with everyone and it was always quiet inside. There was no laughter, no tears, and no noise. Just silence, even from the children.

Mercury, still on the medical bed, woke, blinking in the light that streamed from the windows. Without a doubt, she would recognize the medical room. She spent most of her time there as head doctor in Japan. _Sounds like I'm the Surgeon General_, she thought.

Getting out of the bed, she found all her fellow Senshi asleep and being taken care of. A human Diana was consoling Chibiusa. Her eyebrows drew together in worry when she saw Neo Queen Serenity and King Endymion in two of the medical beds, and unsure why Chibiusa was crying so badly.

She walked up to Luna. "What happened?"

Luna and Artemis exchanged glances. "You had better sit down for this." When Mercury did not, they sighed. Luna took her time explaining the battle, hedging around something. Ami's frown grew during the tale.  "So what's wrong with Serenity and Endymion?" she asked, interrupting something.

"They won't wake up," Artemis said after a long pause. "It isn't like the Dark Moon Family, where Serenity was encased in crystal. Their injuries have been taken care of, but…" He shrugged.

"What do you mean they won't wake up?" she demanded.

They shrugged, looking anxiously back at the couple on the beds. "We really don't know anything at all," Luna murmured. "But I fear for their lives like nothing I've ever felt before, not even during the Dark Moon invasion."

Mercury's face was skeptical as she took out her computer and switched on her visor. What could have possibly happened that was worse than the Dark Moon invasion. The normal statistics flashed upon her screen and over her eyes and impatiently she slogged through them, tapping her foot in irritation. These days she always seemed to be irritated about the little things, and she knew it was because of the war that was giving her this stress.

Her eyebrows drew together in confusion when nothing shown itself to be wrong. She tapped Neo Queen Serenity's shoulder a few times, but nothing, not even a reflex move happened. It was beginning to disturb her, how there was nothing coming up and her gut now telling her something was terribly wrong. She wanted so badly to slam her computer down, wanted to make herself believe that it just wasn't scanning right. But when she went through the slow and painful process again, nothing changed. Grabbing Serenity's shoulders, she shook her violently, even more violently than Rei had on the asteroid with Fiore, and yelled, "Serenity, wake up! Damn it, wake up!"

Luna and Artemis tackled her and pinned her to the opposite wall, far from the Queen. "Calm down!" the white haired man commanded. 

Mercury took a deep breath and forced her body to relax. "I need to sit down." 

They brought her a chair as the other Senshi awoke, hearing Mercury's frantic cries to the queen. Silence reigned in the room when they were told about the King and Queen's condition. Chibiusa's body tensed as she felt ten gazes boring into her back. It was her fault. Like the last time with Dark Moon Family. It was always her fault. She just wasn't a good Soldier or a good princess. What had made her think she could do something that the Senshi couldn't? 

She turned around, her eyes red-rimmed. "I'm sorry," she whispered. 

"As well you should be," said a voice. Although the words would normally have sounded harsh, the soft tone took the sting out. A gentle, white light filled the room and congealed into a form. 

Her appearance was inhumanly beautiful, with silver hair that cascaded down her back to her feet. A strange symbol on her forehead, a crescent moon on her forehead but much more elaborate and white in color. Her eyes were dark cobalt, and with just one look they could practically see the stars in them. The white dress she wore was extremely ornate while also quite loose and nearly moved independently of her body.

She smiled gently.

End Chapter 1


	2. Chapter 02: The Lost Legends

Author's Notes:

If you need to email me, contact me here: Guardian4@atlantic.net. Please put fanfiction in the subject line so I know what it's pertaining to. I use a little manga attacks in here, but not much so bear with me. I don't own Sailor Moon. It is the property of Naoko Tacheuchi. 

**Crystal Hearts**

_When The War Ends_

_Chapter 2: The Lost Legends_

The woman continued to smile. "I am the goddess Selene. Queen Serenity of the Moon Kingdom is dead. She resides with me now, as a good and loyal friend, watching over you with me."

"But I thought her spirit was still alive!" exclaimed Artemis. "She showed herself to the Inners before the end of Queen Beryl and she gave Sailor Moon the Cutie Moon Rod and the Ginzuishou in a new locket."

"That is true. She begged me to let her help her daughter before she took on the evil queen and I allowed her. During the rebirth of the new locket, her spirit did appear to Sailor Moon, but it was only in her mind. It was much easier for her to influence her daughter's thoughts. All she had to do was use the memory of herself in her daughter's mind to say her words. Princess Serenity just supplied the images. Her spirit was with me. It is the same principle for things like that that go along with a goddess saying something to one of her followers."

"What about the Ginzuishou?"

She looked at Luna. "Ah, now that was me. Queen Serenity could not give her daughter that because she was dead, but I, being a goddess, could. So I did for my friend."

"Why did you come to us?" asked Luna.

"The Neo Queen and King will not awaken."

"There has to be something we can do!" Mars cried. "You would not have come down here if there wasn't! Would you?" she faltered.

She laughed quietly. "You're right, I wouldn't. But first, I see I must explain. I cannot tell you about the enemy, but I can tell you about what caused this war and what can help the King and Queen." She paused. "Now, Senshi, think back to the past. Do you remember Nehelenia and the Dead Moon Circus?" They nodded. "Can you remember anything else? Did you ever have a feeling that instead of the Dead Moon Circus there should have been peace?"

They exchanged glances and all shook their heads. 

"I thought so. You see, this war was caused by two people."

"Who?" they exclaimed excitedly, hoping to finally find out some of the puzzling answers.

"By Neo Queen Serenity and little Princess Usagi."

Silence. 

"You see, when Chibiusa came back to the future from the past after Death Busters things were going as planned. The Senshi had no memories of the Dead Moon Circus because there hadn't been one. In all the Senshi and King and Queen's memories there were visions of peace. So when Chibiusa came back, looking like she missed the past, the Queen sent her back to enjoy herself since she remembered it being peaceful. She did not send her back to train; little Chibimoon had completed that already. 

"Queen Nehelenia awakened because of Chibiusa returning to the past. You see, she hated the White Moon, we all know that; she awoke when the White Moon Princess' signature was there."

"But Usagi was a princess then," Jupiter protested. "Shouldn't she have awoken because of Usagi?"

"No, she wouldn't have. You see, Usagi was not Princess Serenity exclusively. She was also Tsukino Usagi."

"I don't get it," Jupiter admitted sheepishly.

Selene smiled. "Was it Princess Serenity going to Juuban Junior High or was it Tsukino Usagi, perpetual late comer? That was Usagi. The princess was dormant until she was needed. However, Chibiusa isn't like that. She is always a princess, just dressing differently. So when she sensed Chibiusa, Nehelenia awoke."

"But I thought that you said Serenity had memories of peace during the Dead Moon Circus," Venus objected.

"She did. When she sent back Chibiusa, her memories changed without her knowing it. She never gave it a second thought because it was her past and when she sent her daughter there, it was to her present. Do you see? For Usagi of the present, it hadn't happened so when she came back, it was the future. For Neo Queen Serenity, it was the past, but since she sent her daughter back, the past is subject to change. You see if Chibiusa had stayed in the future, then the Inner Senshi would have found what was needed and it would have prevented the war occurring right now."

"And what is that?" asked Saturn quietly.

"Four stones. Nephrite, kunzite, zoisite, and jadeite."

"Aren't those the names of the Kings of Beryl's?" asked Uranus suspiciously. 

Selene cleared her throat. "Yes, those were their names. They were named after the stones."

"Does this mean the generals have something to do with this?" asked Venus.

"The Shitennou you knew in your first new years of being Senshi with the Neo Queen as Sailor Moon are dead."

They gave a collective sigh of relief. 

"From what you have said, Goddess Selene," Diana started, "it sounds like it is solely Chibiusa's fault. You said it was also Serenity's."

Selene started. "Oh? Did I make it sound like it was someone's fault? I guess I did. You see, the Neo Queen has a big heart and doesn't want anyone to be sad, least of all her daughter. She didn't know that Chibiusa was just getting used to being in the future again, that's all. And do not worry, Helios and Chibiusa would have met sooner or later, it just happened sooner than was expected. A whole lot sooner." Chibiusa blushed.

"Why are the stones important, Goddess Selene?" asked Mercury.

"That I cannot tell you. You have to find out on your own. When you have, I will come back and explain if you have any questions." With that, white light filled the room again for a moment and she was gone.

The Senshi looked at each other. "We have to get the stones," Jupiter said finally.

"Yes, but who will protect the palace and find survivors if we are all gone?" asked Saturn.

"The Outer Senshi. The Inner Senshi will find them," Venus stated emphatically.

"You aren't serious!" exclaimed Mars and Uranus at the same time. Mars continued. "It is the INNER Senshi's duty to protect the Royal Family! Let the Outer Senshi go since they have always been the outer perimeter guards!"

Venus shook her head. "No, we will go."

"Why?!" demanded Uranus.

Venus looked out the window from the medical bed. "I have a feeling. Besides, with no Sailor Moon, I am the leader and I said the Inner Senshi go."

"I want to know why!" yelled Mars, on the brink of being hysterical.

Venus turned to her sharply. "Because they are more powerful than us with their experience and the talismans! They can better protect and find survivors than we can! Can you dispute that?"

"No," whispered Mars.

Saturn stood up and walked to Venus. "If you're going," she started in her soft voice, "then you had better be healed. Hold still so I can fix your arm." Purple light from Hotaru's hands outlined Venus' arm and a moment later, she removed the bandages. She wiped some sweat off her brow and took a few deep breaths before going to Mars. 

She carefully wrapped her hands around the injured ankle and when she was done, Mars no longer felt sprain. It was no longer swelled, either. She smiled at Saturn in thanks. Saturn managed a small one in return, though it was very tired.

Since Mercury's chair was near Jupiter's bed, she decided if she couldn't do two at once. Holding one hand over Jupiter's legs and placing a palm over Mercury's forehead, she closed her eyes. Her hands glowed once again, though this time the light was very weak and the process was very slow. 

When she was done, Mercury caught her as she collapsed in exhaustion. She was still conscious, however. Uranus stood up and carried Saturn back to her medical bed. 

The Inner Senshi got off the beds and Mercury stood up. Chibiusa walked up to them. "I'm going too."

"No you aren't," Venus told her, not ungently. "Look, Chibiusa, you are the princess and you must be protected as well. And," she whispered kindly, knowing it was a hard subject for the younger girl to bear, "you are not Chibimoon or Sailor Moon. Besides, there are only four stones to get. There are four Inner Senshi at the moment. We are the best to go."

Chibiusa stared at their set faces and bolted from the room, tears streaking down her cheeks. Diana ran after her, calling her name. They watched her go for a moment and then turned back to the issue at hand. It hurt them to see their friends' daughter so upset, but there wasn't anything they could do about it. Besides, even if she was Sailor Moon or Chibimoon, they could not endanger her like that.

"Where are the stones?" Jupiter asked.

Mercury typed on her computer some. "These stones are very rare, especially jadeite. Actually, nephrite is a different type of jade and looking for that specific kind could be hard. There are a few deposits around the world we can look. There is some calcium magnesium iron silicate hydroxide, or nephrite, in Asia, there's some lithium aluminum silicate, or kunzite, in England, there's some calcium aluminum silicate hydroxide, or zoisite, in Africa, and there's some sodium aluminum silicate, or jadeite, in America."

"Where in those countries are they?" 

"Well, there are about three deposits each around the continents. In America, there is some jadeite where California should be, there's some in the Midwest, around Texas, and there's some in Michigan," she said, and went on describing the areas of the other deposits in the other countries.

The other Inner Senshi sighed. This would be hard. 

"Who goes where?" asked Mars.

"Hmm. Jupiter you go to Asia to get the nephrite, Mars you go to America to get the jadeite, Mercury will go to Africa, and I will go to England," Venus instructed, keeping her voice carefully neutral as she said England. She hadn't been back there since she had been fourteen and she had left, leaving Sailor V as presumed dead. Not even when they had been searching for survivors had she gone back there. She had let the other Senshi deal with that. She hadn't been sure if she could face the past of Sailor V even now. None had reported seeing Alan and Katrina as alive or dead.

"I hate to break up this party," said Uranus dryly. "But what are you going to do if you run into the enemy?"

They looked at each other. That had not occurred to them. "I don't know," Mercury admitted. "We'll just have to be really quiet so we won't be noticed."

"Like it's that easy," Neptune muttered. 

The Inner Senshi gathered together, not holding hands. That would take them all to the same place, something that would not be wise. To get the stones as quickly as possible was their main objective and that would go faster if they were searching for them separately.

"Hurry and find the stones," Luna advised. "I'm not sure how long we can hold out against the enemy and keep them here. They will be sure to notice your absences' before long."

The Inner Senshi nodded and concentrated. Their distinctive colors surrounded their bodies and their brows wrinkled in intensity. The aura's wavered as they fought to add more power to the spell.

Uranus put her hands on Jupiter's shoulders and poured some of her power into the green Senshi. Saturn, getting as much of her power as she could from herself, put her hands on Mars' shoulders, Neptune on Mercury's, and Pluto on Venus'. The Outer Senshi's aura's flared brightly as they tried to give strength to the others. 

Even with the added power, the Inners wondered if they would have enough magic accumulated to do four different and separate teleports at the same time. 

Uranus's hands tightened their grip and she tried to force her will into Jupiter. _Come on, believe in yourself!_

Finally, the power seemed to seep into the Inners and a smile lit the Outer Senshi's faces. The Inner Senshi's glow no longer wavered and they brightened. With a flash of four different colors, they were gone. The Outer Senshi took in deep breaths, tired from the transference of power. Luna caught Saturn as her knees gave out and she was really unconscious now. Artemis helped her get the woman into a medical bed.

"I hope they return soon," Neptune murmured. 

Pluto looked at the King and Queen, feeling useless for not having seen what the goddess Selene had told them. _I hope so too_, she thought sadly.

End Chapter 2


	3. Chapter 03: City of Legions

Author's Notes:

If you need to email me, contact me here: Guardian4@atlantic.net. Please put fanfiction in the subject line so I know what it's pertaining to. I use a little manga attacks in here, but not much so bear with me. I don't own Sailor Moon. It is the property of Naoko Tacheuchi. 

**Crystal Hearts**

_When The War Ends_

_Chapter 3: City Of __Legions___

Jupiter, slightly disoriented by her teleportation, found herself in the ruins of a long dead city. She blinked. This was not the place that had been described by Mercury. It was deep night here and she crouched. She was sure this was not a good place to be. There was something about the air there. It felt almost as if it was tainted with an evil force. 

Now, Makoto was not a psychic person, that was Rei's department, but she knew when something wasn't right and this place was _wrong_. 

"It almost feels as if something that should be dead here isn't," she whispered to herself.

Something skittered in the darkness and Jupiter flattened herself against a stone pillar that was still partly standing. She glared around suspiciously and looked for a way out of the ruins. There was a collapsed tunnel behind her. Rocks littered the only way out. She almost groaned. She couldn't teleport just yet because her power was depleted enough to be unable to get out. She had never been this depleted after teleporting because she had always been sharing her power with the others.

She stalked along the edges of the ruins warily. She went in a number of broken and decayed buildings and came to the conclusion that they must have been civilians' homes. 

A large ruined building caught her eye. She glanced about her and walked slowly up to it. This one still had a roof to it. When Jupiter entered, she found a podium at the back wall, which was stone, making up the back wall for the building. It looked to just have been one large room. It was incredibly dark in there, just a little bit of moonlight illumination coming in from various holes in the roof.

She strode up to the podium, always listening to the sounds of skittering just on the edge of her vision. She stared at it. A stone was set under a glass case and on a cushion. Makoto cocked her head at it. This was strange. It looked to be what Mercury had described as nephrite. She looked around suspiciously, wondering if this was a trap of some sort; it seemed too easy. Turning back to the podium, she touched the case experimentally and it exploded with light.

Jupiter jumped back, blinking her eyes to clear her sight. When her eyes adjusted back to the semi-darkness, they widened in disbelief and horror. 

Standing there was a man. He had long, wavy brown hair that went down to the middle of his back and his outfit was exactly like that of a Dark Kingdom Shitennou. His eyes were a deep brown and they clashed with her green.

Now, Makoto had never actually _met_ Nephrite; she had only heard first hand accounts and told the description and she barely remembered anything from the Silver Millennium. He looked to be not a day older than when he had fought and saved Naru when it had been Usagi, Ami, and Rei together. He was also surprisingly handsome.

He cocked his head at her and sneered. "Another Senshi. I've never met you, but your outfits are always distinctive." Nephrite blinked and took a longer look at her fuku. "Well, slightly different style than I remembered and certainly a different color. I don't remember a green Senshi the last time I was here. Who are you? Aren't you going to give an intro?" he sneered.

Jupiter ground her teeth together in anger and straightened in a proud gesture. "I am the lightning's child, I am born of earth. As Zeus' chosen avatar, I will protect this planet with lightning and earth! I am Sailor Jupiter!" She poised in her finished transformation stance.

He looked her over again. "Impressive. Not the same speech I kept hearing over and over when I was…wait a minute. How did I get here? I was killed by Zoisite." Some remembrance passed over his face for a fleeting second, but Makoto had no idea what it might have been.

Jupiter gave him a pitying and superior look. "You are in Crystal Tokyo, ruled by Neo-Queen Serenity and King Endymion."

Nephrite started. "Serenity? The princess is grown up?" With a chuckle and a nasty smile, he said, "Well, let's see if she can't live without one less guard."

He tried to blast her with his power, but she jumped out of the way. Rolling on her shoulder and up on her feet, she punched him in the jaw. He blinked and they grappled until they both hit the floor. He struggled to pin her, she always keeping her foot on his stomach so his groping hands couldn't get on a vital part of her anatomy.

"Not bad for a Senshi. None of the others had the strength to withstand a physical fight against me," Nephrite commented breathlessly.

As with any fight, Jupiter knew that verbal battles were a way to unnerve opponents and she was not surprised that he tried this as well.

"Yeah, but if you're so great and they were so weak, then how did they beat you?" She was trying to get him to remember what it felt like when he had turned good, or so she had heard.

Apparently, he did remember Zoisite, but not turning good. "They didn't beat me! The only way the Senshi won was by default when Zoisite attacked me!"

He pinned her under him and his hands grasped her throat.

Makoto's vision began to get fuzzy with lack of oxygen. Her only thoughts were of her queen and king lying in the medical beds, unable to awaken. She thought of the small princess, Chibiusa, crying herself to sleep from the guilt of being unable to transform. She thought about the other Senshi, and especially the Outers who had almost depleted themselves in order to help the Inners with the teleportation. 

Her anger overwhelmed her and her tiara flared. A voice echoed in the room and made Jupiter and Nephrite both start. It had no discernable source. It was also very masculine and very angry.

"Evil! Stand forth and back away! I am Zeus, god of gods! Touch not my daughter!"

Jupiter's breath sucked into her throat. She was Zeus' daughter? She had known she was his avatar, but not his daughter. _Me? His daughter? It can't be! _An invisible power threw Nephrite off her body and into the wall. She felt her body being supported to her feet and the feeling of arms enclosing her in a gentle and secure embrace.

Nephrite pulled himself to his feet, using the wall as support.  "I know not what power you use, but it shall not defeat me!" He could not entirely hide his uncertainty and slight fear in his eyes. Slowly, as if he was experimenting with an idea that he wasn't sure wouldn't backfire on him, a blast of dark power rushed for her. It slammed into a barrier not of her making. What seemed like another experimental move, and he had punched toward her.

He barely made it near her when he slammed back into the opposite wall.

Her tiara still flared a bright, steady green. The voice responded in her mind. _"My daughter, here is the power you need to defeat him."_

"But I cannot defeat him, even being super! The Outer Senshi are stronger and greater than the Inners! They might be able to defeat him, but not I and especially not by myself!"

"You are right, in that respect. My brothers Poseidon, Hades, Ouranos, and Chronos are proud of their avatars. The Inner Senshi are very proud and did not take their entire power. The Outer Senshi have, with the talismans and such. They accepted more readily the role of a Soldier, therefore accepting and receiving their full power. However, take the power you have yet to call upon. You were always very proud and never asked for help. Now I give it unasked. Take it."

Magic filled her body and she felt empowered. Opening her eyes and glaring at Nephrite, she called out, "Jupiter Lightning Tempest!"

She held her hands up, crossed at the wrists above her head. In her tiara, a lightning rod extended upwards. Lightning flashed behind Jupiter and her tiara and then crashed down onto Nephrite, who stared at it in shock. Behind her, stars flew. Nephrite read them a second before he died. _Oh my gods! She is the Princess Jupiter! Ye gods above! She's star blessed and she's the better half! She's part of the star circle and she's the…_

Nephrite never finished his thought as the lightning invaded his system. He stared into Jupiter's eyes and saw the unmatchable hatred there. He felt sad, knowing he had caused such loathing. _She's the…_

His body dissolved in showering lights. Makoto took a deep breath and sank to her knees. She was exhausted. Again she felt the gentle and safe embrace from someone she couldn't see. She leaned into it for a moment until the voice interrupted her doze. This time it was compassionate and loving.

"My daughter, you must move quickly. Your queen and friend need you."

She stood up and whispered, "Yes, Father." The words felt just as comforting as his arms had been. Saying the phrase seemed right. Walking to the podium, she looked inside the glass case. A jade crystal sat, shaped like a star. 

Jupiter opened the glass case and carefully handled the stone. Obviously the feeling she had gotten was from Nephrite being ensnared here. The ruins must have had the stone for so long and it must have been precious to the people who had lived there. They had to have had a necromancer among them and summoned a great warrior. They had gotten Nephrite instead. _He must have turned against the village and murdered them,_ she decided finally. _Then he couldn't leave. I bet the village wanted a test for someone to see if they were worthy of taking the stone. It is very beautiful. _

Makoto decided that her musings were taking too much time and she walked to the entrance. She paused and looked around the room again. It still held the vestiges of power that had been thrown around in the heated battle between herself and Nephrite.

"So that was Nephrite. What a weakling. Thank you, Father."

Jupiter left the room and back out into the cavern. "Now how do I get out?" she wondered aloud. Putting the stone in her subspace pocket, she explored the ruins thoroughly and found nothing. 

Going back inside the large room, she explored it thoroughly as well. Still she found no sign of a way out. Makoto slumped to the floor in despair. How was she supposed to get out? She couldn't teleport out; she was too depleted power-wise. 

She yawned and began to doze. In her trance-like state, someone approached her. He was a powerfully built man with authority written all over him. His dark brown hair reached the middle of his back and a pale silver beard that went down to the middle of his throat. A long white robe came down to his ankles, covering dark green pants and earthen colored boots. 

"Zeus," she whispered. 

He smiled and held out his arms to her. She ran to them gladly. "Oh, my Jupiter. How I've missed you."

Makoto looked at him. "But how can you be my father? Even in the Silver Millennium…"

He laughed gently. "All the gods and goddesses had one child. You are my daughter. We decided to have avatars and what better avatar is there than one of your own flesh and blood with your powers? I named you Jupiter, although you also go by a different name now."

"Kino Makoto," she supplied with a smile.

He nodded and kissed her forehead. "I've watched the Senshi all your life. You don't know how much I've missed you. I remember all our long talks in the Silver Millennium. We talked about everything. You told me of your loves, lives, sadness, you even told me about your true love that you had found…You don't remember them at all, naturally, and that's the pity, but Chronos said we can't bring your memories back. You have to remember them on your own, if you can. The rest of us are putting up a hell of a fight with poor Chronos about the memories and he's practically pulling his hair out over us." He chuckled. "If his daughter is anything like him, I bet you and her have had some serious problems when it comes to information. Just keep in mind that her 'orders' came from Chronos, and he knows best, right?" Zeus snorted in amusement. "Perhaps we can renew our chats after this war is done and make some new memories. Would you like that?" he asked with a smile.

"Yes, more than anything, yes!" she exclaimed excitedly. "Do you know why we need the stones, though?"

"I do, but I can't tell you. Selene refuses to let us interfere in any way, especially in information. If I didn't know better, I would say that her and Chronos have been conspiring against us." He laughed quietly. "Suffice it to say for now, you just need them. I love you, Jupiter." 

His form disappeared and Makoto fully awoke to find herself standing in the middle of the room. She blinked and stared at the back wall. There was an archway that hadn't been there before. 

She walked up to it suspiciously, even though she knew there was no harm in it. There were runes carved into the top, and even though she knew she didn't know the language, she knew what was written there anyway.

"Life is endless cycles. This is the City of Legions, home of the great god Zeus and his daughter of endless strength, Jupiter. Welcome."

She smiled and felt tears at the corners of her eyes. She would have liked to stay, but Serenity and Endymion were waiting for her. _Who would have thought? An entire city dedicated to me. Huh. Funny. And Zeus is a lot more talkative than I would have thought._

Jupiter shrugged and ran through the tunnel and into the daylight.

Nephrite floated in a sea of stars, oblivious. Suddenly the stars dimmed and brightened. This attracted the spirit's attention. His eyes slid open ever so slightly.

End Chapter 3


	4. Chapter 04: Breath of Fire

Author's Notes:

If you need to email me, contact me here: Guardian4@atlantic.net. Please put fanfiction in the subject line so I know what it's pertaining to. I use a little manga attacks in here, but not much so bear with me. I don't own Sailor Moon. It is the property of Naoko Tacheuchi. 

**Crystal Hearts**

_When The War Ends_

_Chapter 4: Breath of Fire_

Mars trudged along the dirt road, being as silent as she could. She felt many enemies nearby and she desperately wanted to avoid them. If they decided to attack her, she would not survive.

Rei leaned against what was left of a tree and sighed, resting her weary feet. She had been walking for hours. If she guessed right, she might say she was in Michigan since it was fairly cold now that it was getting to be night. 

There was nothing for it. She would have to rest here. She sunk down and took off her shoes, massaging her feet. Mars groaned and brushed back tears. She now partially understood what Usagi had gone through with Nehelenia, trying to get Mamoru back. Walking through the snow and blizzards barefoot and sure to go on with no one there to help her and unable to transform…

Mars shuddered. It scared her to think about things like that. _Gods, some of these things have such similarities. I can barely believe that anything to do with Nehelenia wouldn't have happened if Chibiusa hadn't come back to the past. I mean, it's a good thing that we healed her, but still…To think that was something we would not have had to go through, that crisis with Nehelenia. I wonder how fighting Galaxia would have been different. And what did the goddess Selene mean when she said if Chibiusa hadn't gone back that the Inners would have found what was needed to prevent this war?_

She pulled her shoes back on and began to look for a place to stay the night. Oddly enough, she noticed a small cave. The smell of meat cooking and the feel of warmth coming from it made her long to be there and wary of what lay inside at the same time.

Mars crept slowly to the small entrance and peeked inside. She almost groaned at what she saw. Seven creatures rested around a roaring fire, roasting meat, and talking in a language she didn't understand. Rei did not want to know what that meat used to be. 

She thanked all the gods and goddesses from stopping her at the tree. If she had gone on, they would have seen her walking. Her stomach began to growl as the aroma of food swirled on the air and was brought to her nostrils.

A creature paused its talking and looked around. Another asked it a question. It obviously answered that it had heard something since the others began looking around as well. 

Mars gently pulled away from the mouth of the cave. How was she to go on? She waited in breathless silence as the creatures began talking once more. She was not so foolhardy as to approach again. 

But she wondered what she was to do. She couldn't walk past the mouth of the cave; they would see her for sure. She had no idea how long it would take to go around the cave; that could take days and she didn't have the leisure of time to do that. 

She had just sat down to ponder what to do when a scream echoed through the night, followed by a sharp pulling on her senses. Mars jumped in shock and hid behind a bush that, besides the tree and the cave, was the only thing decorating the sides of the road. She struggled to pinpoint what that burst of power was, but it was gone and she couldn't even remember what it had felt like.

Two creatures ran screaming from the cave as fast as their four and eight legs could carry them. She watched in fascination as another backed up until it was just outside the mouth of the cave and began launching attacks. 

White smoke enveloped the creature and it collapsed, obviously dead. She could feel from her hiding place the energy that had been taken from the creature. A high voice laughed and said something. The words she couldn't make out, but the voice she recognized. She almost groaned. Jadeite. _But how…_

The remaining three monsters ran from the cave and only two got away. The one that had been lagging behind found it's energy sucked dry and died. She took a closer look and nearly gasped. It was a human being! 

Nothing more happened and Jadeite did not come from the cave. Silence filled the air around her, but it permeated by the feelings of her and other creatures' fears.

Mars sat for an hour in stunned silence. How could Jadeite still be alive? Admittedly, they had never seen hide nor hair of him again after the airport, but there was no way he could have survived the destruction of Metallia and Beryl, if he hadn't been dead by then anyway. 

She felt herself shake. She had never feared any enemy the way she feared the Dark Kingdom. She had never feared the Dark Moon Family, the Death Busters, the Dead Moon Circus, or even Galaxia the way she feared the Dark Kingdom. Perhaps it was the fact that Beryl had destroyed all nine of the planets and taken over Earth during the Silver Millennium. None of their other enemies had come close to gaining that kind of foothold over the situation. Not even Galaxia had gotten that far, even with the starseeds.

A voice inside her head spoke and she began to stop shaking. It startled the hell out of her, but it also calmed her. The voice was low and gentle, though it indicted it wasn't always that way.

"Don't worry. There is nothing to fear anymore because now you have to face your fears. Mars, my Mars, you are my daughter. The daughter of the god of war, you can do this. There is nothing to fear anymore. Confront him."

The voice spoke no more and Mars knew nothing to say to bring him back. She put his words about their relationship into the back of her mind. She stood up and squared her shoulders. She had to face Jadeite. She had to face her fears or they would cripple her for the rest of her life.

When Mars entered the cave, Jadeite turned to face her and his jaw dropped. His hair was still cut short around his face and his blue eyes still pierced.  He smiled suddenly, a cruel one.

"Well, Sailor Mars. We meet again. A pleasure, I assure you," he mocked, giving a short bow.

Mars did not acknowledge his words. "As the child of war and Senshi, I am bound to defeat you. But as a person, I have a personal grudge to settle with you," she growled.

"And I you."

"Fire Soul!" she cried, using her first attack that she hadn't used in a century. It was more powerful than when she was fourteen, but she was still surprised that she had drawn on that one first. Usually she went for Flame Sniper or Snake Fire.

"Ha!" He threw out his hand and mist swirled around her. He then formed a black, crystal spear and threw it at her. Her power slammed into his and they shattered, canceling each other out. 

"You cannot defeat me!" He laughed, sure in his victory. "It took three of you to defeat me the last time. What do you, alone, think you can do against me?"

Rei didn't answer. She pulled out one of her talismans and began to intone her chant. "Akyuro Taisan," she whispered and threw it at him.

He put up a seamless barrier between the paper and himself. Inside her heart, she felt something crack and break. More power than she had ever felt before flooded her attack.

"Burning Fire Strike!" she screamed. A flame appeared in her cupped hands. Her hair waved frantically in an invisible breeze. Slowly she pointed her palms at him and the power attacked the barrier a wide stream of fire. Between the power behind the attack and the talisman against evil, Jadeite could not hold his shield and it shattered. He screamed in pain as his body disintegrated. 

Mars stared at her hands in shock. A small, happy smile curved her lips. _I did it! I faced my fears and destroyed them! I can't believe it! I did it!_

"Of course you did it. How could you think you wouldn't?"

She turned to see a man dressed in black leather, with dark red armor over it and a helmet in under his arm. His hair was so black it absorbed any light. Deep garnet eyes stared into hers, sending a familiarity up her spine and through her senses. A silk black cloak with blood scarlet lining inside draped from his shoulders. Beside him stood a black mare, all complete muscle with pale silver hooves.

"Ares? God of War?" she faltered.

He smiled. "There was once a time you called me father."

She gulped slowly, not wanting to really believe it and yet dying to. Her mouth went dry to realize that she might be related to a god. It would easily explain her Senshi and psychic powers.

Ares approached her, the horse following behind without even motioned to. She touched her muzzle reverently, seeing a great black saddle edged in red and garnet jewels on her back. Everything about her and what she wore proclaimed that she was treasured and she knew it. 

"Hey Nemesis," she whispered.

She didn't know how she knew the horse's name, but the mare nickered at her as if she had known her for her entire life. Mars smiled a little and touched her forehead to the horse's.

A hand ran its hand through her hair lovingly and she looked up into those beautiful red eyes that watched her compassionately and lovingly. He pulled her into his arms and she buried her face into his chest, glad beyond words to feel a father's love again.

It was as if he could read her mind. "You don't know how many times I wanted to take you away or punish that man," he whispered. "No one can treat my daughter like that, even if he is a political party member." Ares growled low in his throat. "But Chronos and the other gods refused to let me interfere."

She could imagine him fighting, physically even, with the other gods. It made her smile, knowing that a father loved her that much.

"Though you were born as that man's child, you'll always be my daughter, Mars. I love you."

Nemesis butted her arm and touched her cheek with her muzzle. Slow tears tracked down her face, happy tears.

He pulled away reluctantly, as if someone was grabbing him insistently by a mental arm. "I must go and you must save your friends." Ares was gone in a few minutes, along with his horse Nemesis, but she felt no distress at his departure. Rather, she smiled and sighed, knowing he would always be there for her.

A sparkle on the floor caught her eye. She knelt in the middle of the cave and moved away some of the loose dust and soil. Embedded safely beneath was a beautiful green stone. "It's the jadeite stone!" she cried then immediately wished she hadn't. 

Whirling around, she faced a man and a creature standing on its hands with its feet in the air. It looked up at her with a malicious smile. _Oh, damn!_

Without a word, the man attacked her with bright blue shafts of light. She dodged, a few strands of hair being cut. The creature flipped toward her and she jumped over it. 

Grabbing the jadeite stone in her hand, she called upon her power. Perhaps she could teleport back to the palace or at least somewhere else. She had to make sure the stone got back to Crystal Tokyo, even at the cost of her life. 

Red light surrounded her form and the attack went straight through her body. The two assailants stared at her in shock. Mars was pretty shocked as well, but realized that she had already begun the teleportation process by herself. A smile flashed on her face and she pictured the crystal palace, complete with spires, in her head. 

The red light intensified, leaving the man and the creature blinded. When they blinked after the light was gone, the Soldier was no longer there. 

The crystal wall around the Jadeite spirit began to crack. Surprised, he opened his eyes and studied the fissures before him. He reached out his hand to touch them, or trying to. It was so far away. Could he reach it?

End Chapter 4

A worthy note:

Ares' horse, Nemesis – Nemesis is a goddess of retribution in classical mythology. Also, you might notice that my descriptions don't fit with mythology per se, but I thought that if the Greek gods applied to Sailor Moon, they would be different, especially around their children. No Ares doesn't normally have a horse.


	5. Chapter 05: Crystals Shattering

Author's Notes:

If you need to email me, contact me here: Guardian4@atlantic.net. Please put fanfiction in the subject line so I know what it's pertaining to. I don't own Sailor Moon. It is the property of Naoko Tacheuchi. 

**Crystal Hearts**

When The War Ends 

_Chapter 5: __Crystals__ Shattering_

The night shrouded the ground, giving the Senshi plenty of cover. She flitted from shadow to shadow, always looking out for danger. Stopping and clutching a stitch in her side, she snapped her visor over her eyes. 

Mercury shivered. She had not realized how cold Africa was at night. Nothing showed up on her visor as friend or foe and she ran ahead. The stings on her body throbbed in an annoying way. They didn't hurt; they just distracted her concentration, something that was very dangerous when their enemies were everywhere. 

After teleporting, she had fallen into a tree with many sharp branches. Ami nearly groaned at the memory and the headache it evoked. She had fallen head down. Not only did all the blood rush to her head, she had only gotten out of tree by dislodging herself, rolling down to the ground with her arms over her head and protecting herself from a concussion. 

Mercury dropped to her knees and let the tears come to her eyes at last. From her readings, she had teleported miles, literally tens of thousands of miles, away from where the stone should be. If hers went so askew, then the others hadn't had a hope or prayer. She had failed to do _something_; something that would have teleported them to the right locations. 

She curled up on her side, staring into the night. She had failed Serenity and Endymion and because of her, they would die, Crystal Tokyo would fall, and the Earth would be destroyed. And it would be all her fault.

A headache started, making her temples throb, but Ami didn't pay much attention to it. It was all her fault…

A face flashed in her mind, a glimpse that was too fast to recognize. She finally noticed the aching in her head and her eyebrows drew together. It wasn't like her to be wallowing in supposed guilt. Sitting up, she looked around her through her visor. A small red glow on the screen at the edge of her vision alerted her. 

She knew what kind of creature it was. It would reach up to just the middle of her calf, gray in skin and no hair, and have eyes that took up most of its face and very oval. The ears would be pointed and two feet long. It would have teeth so sharp that it could split a hair down the middle and have a cruel smile on its lips.

It was not very big, but more dangerous than any of the other creatures. It took over your mind with guilt, sadness, and other deadly emotions until you just gave up and died, not willing to live anymore.

Mercury frowned. This was not a good thing. Sure, they were simple to kill, if you could get it to stay in one spot long enough _to_ kill it. Since it was very fast, it had the benefit since it was small and not built for bulk. She stood up, finally shaking its hold off of her mind. 

Quickly, she called out softly, "Shabon Spray!"

Mist slowly formed from her fingertips and enveloped both her and the creature. She watched through her visor, not daring to even turn her head to look at it. It moved to the left and then the right, as if it couldn't see her. A triumphal smile lit her features. Now to get rid of it…

"Shine Aqua Illusion!" she whispered. Tossing the water in the air and using a mental command, it froze on the ground behind her. She watched in her visor as the creature stopped moving abruptly, as if it couldn't. 

"Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!" she finally yelled. It let out a screech of protest, but its lungs filled with water too quickly for it to do anything. The water froze on its lungs and it fell on its side, dead.

Mercury breathed a sigh of relief and rapidly left the scene of the battle in case something else had heard anything. However, the farther she went, the harder it became to go. An insistent feeling in the back of her mind kept telling her to go back. That she _needed_ to go back. 

Ami stopped and stared up at the sky, once so blue during the day and so black at night. Now it was simply gray most of the time; a dark, foreboding melancholy color. 

Finally she turned around and stopped whenever the feeling no longer held any sway over her. She found herself near her battle site, but there was nothing but the body of the creature there, something that was a relief. Mercury set her computer to analyze and gather data on the dead creature while she looked around. 

A tree stood near her and she walked up to it. She spotted a small knothole in the wood and ran her fingers over it. It was a very dark color, in contrast to the light tan the rest of the tree was. It rocked under her fingertips and she blinked in surprise.

Mercury pried it off the tree and had just the smallest glimpse of a crystal inside when flower petals blinded her. She jumped back, covering her eyes. When she looked again, she gasped in shock.

His hair still caught back in a loose ponytail at the nape of his neck by a green hair band. His green eyes locked with her blue. An evil smile crossed his lips.

"Zoisite," Mercury whispered, stunned. "I thought you were dead."

"So did I. I'm apparently not as dead as I thought I was," he retorted. "Now, to finish what I started…Wait a second…"

He looked around, noticing that they seemed to be in something like a desert. It couldn't be a complete desert since there was still a relative abundance of plant life. He shivered with the cold of the night.

_Cold, Zoisite? I can make it freezing, _Ami thought angrily to herself. "Water and ice crash down and flood the mind, I am Sailor Mercury! As the princess of Mercury and a Senshi of this planet now, I will defeat you! Mercury Aqua Mirage!" she cried and balls of water flew at him.

Zoisite's eyes widened in shock and he jumped out of the way. Glaring at her, he yelled, "Zoi!"

Flower petals grazed her cheek, leaving a few more cuts, these deeper than the scratches and hurting a lot worse. He struck out with his hand and it lashed her jaw, knocking her onto the ground. 

"Zoi!" he yelled again. 

She gasped in pain as his attack raced and cut her body. Her fuku was torn nearly to ribbons as she lie on the ground, trying to survive the pain. 

With only the thought of Serenity lying in the hospital bed back at the Crystal Palace and the jewel that would help her, Mercury cried out almost reflexively, "Mercury Ice Music!"

Something flooded her brain and she looked up at him as the attack formed in her head. It seemed to be in slow motion for her. Her mouth had formed the words, but her harp had not come. Instead, her palm flew up toward him and water sprayed from it, blasting Zoisite in the chest.

He knocked backwards and onto the ground. Mercury stood up hastily and did her attack again. This time her harp did appear, but it was different. It was much more extravagant than it had been before, studded with sapphires, and the strings were made of water streams. Yet the attack was still as powerful as the last time she had done it without it. 

She plucked a few strings and slightly transparent water streams surrounded her hands. As she lifted her hands from the instrument, it disappeared. Holding her arms in the air, water spiraled down around her on both sides. At her feet, a tidal wave erupted and attacked Zoisite.

"Zoi!"

Flower petals and water crashed into each other. They held even for a minute until Mercury's power smashed through his and enveloped his body. When the water was just a pool of liquid on the soil, Zoisite was nowhere to be seen.

Ami stared at her hands. Where had that power come from? She looked up at the Moon and inexplicably, she thought of the face that had flashed before her when the creature had had control of her mind. Who was that and why had they saved her? 

Her vision suddenly filled with blue and when she blinked, a smiling man was standing before her.  A short, golden rod was in his hand, having two wings on it either side of it near the top. He was a rather skinny man, looking to be built more for speed and agility than strength. He wore golden sandals and a white toga that went down to his ankles. His short hair was blonde and wavy and he had a boyish grin on his face.

"Mercury," he said to her affectionately.

"How do you know me?" she asked, bewildered. Her readings from her visor were going out of control on the power scale and because she wanted to concentrate on him and not the readings, she switched it off.

He chuckled. "How could I not know my own daughter?"

"Daughter? I'm sorry, sir, but I think you must be mistaken. My mother is Mizuno—"

"Pish, tosh," he said, waving his hand. "I was not talking about the present. I was talking about the past. Your complete essence is my daughter." Suddenly his eyes went soft and a little sad. "I know you don't remember me and I doubt you will ever believe me. You always wanted proof no matter what. I can't give you any proof to my words, my dear Mercury."

"You're….you're the god Hermes, aren't you?" she faltered. _Why does he keep calling me Mercury like it's my real name, like Ami?_

"Yes, I am." 

Could he be my father? My father from the Silver Millennium? But how? Could I actually be the daughter of a god? I can't be! But then how can I explain being a Senshi if I'm not? Her face reflected her indecision. But would that make me only a half of a god then? Mercury glanced at his face and decided then was not the time to be asking such questions. After all, she had more pressing matters with Serenity and Endymion.

"Please believe me," he begged.

The word 'believe' echoed in her head. She looked at him hesitatingly. "I believe you." And she found that she did. She smiled at him and saw tears leak down his cheeks.

"Thank you," he whispered. "Your power is yours to keep. But you must hurry back to your King and Queen now. They are waiting."

He disappeared and Ami was saddened for a moment. Would she see him again? However, in her heart something told her she would see him again and that brought a smile to her face.

Mercury turned back to the tree, the whole reason she was in Africa in the first place. She tugged on the crystal, but it was surprisingly stuck. It was deeply embedded there, despite its rather flimsy looking holding. 

Frowning, Ami pulled carefully. She didn't want to break it after all. It still didn't come out. Bracing her legs and putting one palm flat on the wood of the tree, she grasped the crystal firmly in her fist. She gave a hard yank and fell backward onto the ground as it came free almost instantly. She stared at the stone surprised. That had been strange. After all the tough work it was as soon as she had really put some strength behind her pulling it had come out.

Mercury shrugged. At the moment, it wasn't particularly important. She smiled, relieved that she had what she had come for. Concentrating, the Senshi of Water glowed blue and disappeared.

Zoisite's spirit eyes opened and he stared at the blackness around him. He had no idea what was going on. The last thing he remembered was…

End Chapter 5


	6. Chapter 06: Archons of Light

Author's Notes:

If you need to email me, contact me here: Guardian4@atlantic.net. Please put fanfiction in the subject line so I know what it's pertaining to. I don't own Sailor Moon. It is the property of Naoko Tacheuchi. 

**Crystal Hearts**

When The War Ends 

_Chapter 5: Archons Of Light_

Minako rubbed her head, trying to get rid of her migraine. All that power from herself and Pluto had practically overloaded her. Standing up carefully, she dusted off her fuku. Looking around, she wished devoutly for Artemis to be with her. The memories were overwhelming her and she needed him to remind her of what she was supposed to be doing. 

She wasn't in any of the places that she had lived in or been to when she had been younger, in fact she was some place that completely riddled with caves, but it was still England and England hurt. 

_Where am I?_ she wondered, looking around and firmly keeping her mind on Serenity and Endymion. If she didn't think about Alan or Katrina, then maybe she would get out of this after all. 

"Mercury said I should end up where some kunzite deposits were. Is this one of those places?" Venus muttered lowly. She cringed, looking at how many caves there were. Some were so small she would have to crawl to get in and some looked to be great and tall mouths of emptiness that would accommodate even the largest giant from the fairy tales.

Sighing, she walked to the bottom of the cliff that held all the caves. However, when she came nearer, her tiara flared up. When she walked to the left, it got dimmer, but when she walked to the right, it grew brighter. _What the…? Does it react to the kunzite that I'm looking for?_

She looked up, and up, and up. One large cave caught her attention. For want of a better solution, she figured it might be a good place to start looking. Besides, now a low-pitched noise was echoing in her head from her tiara. It made her want to cover her ears in annoyance.

She gathered her strength and bent her knees, getting ready for the jump, but as soon as her feet left the ground, a hand had reached out and grabbed her ankle. 

Venus felt her ankle gripped by something and yanked abruptly back to earth, literally. Rubbing her back, she looked behind her and her breath caught in her throat. She wasn't sure if it was shock that held her breath or the beauty before her. 

A woman stood behind her. She had long, very bright blonde hair that went to her calves. She wore a yellow dress, made of spangles and artfully cut strips of cloth over the main outfit. Many rings adorned her fingers and she wore golden sandals. A golden necklace fell down to the middle of her bosom and had the Venus symbol emblazoned on the pendant. Her eyes were a bright, crystal blue. 

She bent down and gently put her hand on Minako's head. "I didn't mean to startle you." She smiled and held out her hand.

Venus took it and with help, stood up. She came to just the woman's shoulder. "Who are you?" she asked tentatively.

The woman made an exaggeratedly mock-gasp. "You do not recognize the great Goddess of Love? I'm heartbroken!" Then she laughed. "Aphrodite's the name, dear."

Minako managed a tentative smile. "Oh, I'm—"

"I know who you are, dear," Aphrodite interrupted. "You're the Sailor Senshi of Venus, also known as Aino Minako."

Venus did gasp for real when she heard this. "How do you know all that?!" she demanded. No one knew those things except for the Royal Family, Luna and Artemis, and the other Senshi.

Aphrodite laughed again. "I've watched you; I couldn't help it. After all, you are my daughter."

Venus was struck dumbfounded. "I can't _possibly_ be your daughter!" she exclaimed.

The Goddess of Love put one hand on her hip and cocked her head at her daughter. "And why not?"

"Because…because…because…" she faltered. "If I'm your daughter, how come I…" Minako stopped. How was she supposed to express her disappointment? If she was the Goddess of Love's daughter, then how come she had never fallen in love forever like Serenity and Endymion? Why had Allen not loved her instead of Katrina, even though she was happy for both of them?

Aphrodite gave her a soft smile and put her hand on Minako's cheek. "Venus, dear, while you are my daughter, you are also more vulnerable than most."

"What do you mean?"

"You see, you have the ability to see and understand love more than anyone. But such a gift has its consequences. It usually means you won't find love until you have found your _true _love. Do you remember when Mars and Endymion had dated for a little while before he acknowledged his love for Serenity in your new present?" Venus nodded, her face showing confusion. "You, as my daughter, would not be really able to do that. Your keen ability to sense true love and love instead of infatuation or anything else keeps you from dating anyone but your soulmate, like that of Serenity and Endymion. Instinctively, even though you expressed interest in most guys, your love and power to an extent kept the boys and yourself away from them. It's been waiting for your true love and will accept no other."

Minako felt hope rise in her chest. It had nothing really to do with who she was that had kept her a spinster away from everyone. All the other Inners had dated someone at least once, even if they all broke up. Ami and Urawa, Rei and Mamoru for a while, Makoto and her sempai…Everyone but her had fallen in love. Now she understood why and it made her feel better about it. _My heritage keeps me from dating anyone but my soulmate. Interesting…_

"Does that apply to my soulmate as well?" she asked happily. "Does that mean that he won't be able to date anyone else either?"

Aphrodite got a wary and sad look on her face. "Unfortunately, no. If your soulmate was dating or married, that's how it would be. He, or she, would recognize their love for you, but they might not do anything about it if they were involved with someone else."

"What do you mean 'or she'?"

"Venus, you of all should know that love does not care about gender," she admonished gently. "Look at Uranus and Neptune."

Venus flushed, realizing that. "You can call me Minako, mother," she said shyly.

The Goddess of Love smiled. "I wish I could, but I can't call you by any other name but the one I gifted you with when you were born. No matter how I've tried, and believe me I tried, I can't get past the fact that you'll always be Venus to me and not Aino Minako."

Minako shrugged and said, "Names don't really matter all that much anyway."

"I'm sorry if I hurt you when I was pulling you down, but since Hermes, Zeus, and Ares got to see their daughters, I couldn't wait. Agreed, it was after…they got the stones, but I'm a bit impatient. Oh Venus, I've missed you." And with tears in her eyes, she wrapped her arms around Venus.

Minako stiffened for a moment before returning the hug ferociously. "I've missed you too," she whispered, even though she didn't remember her past. The part of her that felt as if it was missing something, though, told her she had found what was supposed to fill it.

Aphrodite pulled away and wiped her eyes. "You had better get on with your mission to help Serenity and Endymion, but before you go…" She touched Venus's tiara and it flared. "Here, this is your full power. You and the Inners should be just as powerful as the Outers now. Do me proud," she whispered as she disappeared. 

Venus was euphoric, but in the back of her mind, she wondered apprehensively what Aphrodite meant when she had said do her proud. When she looked back at the large cave she was going to explore first, her tiara flared with orange light again. She looked behind her, but Aphrodite wasn't there. _So it really must be reacting to the kunzite that I'm supposed to get. Cool, be much easier to find._

However, when she jumped to the cave, her tiara's light dimmed. She began to jump from cave to cave, always going to her right because it seemed be brighter that way. 

She had come to a relatively medium sized cave when her tiara brightened beyond anything it had yet and went out completely. But because of the burst of light, Venus had seen what she was searching for.

She had just grabbed the rose pink stone when _it_ erupted with light in her hand. While she was still blinking to see, a force that she didn't see shoved her out of the cave and she began to plummet toward the ground. Getting her feet under her, she landed roughly, almost shattering her ankles with the impact. Her grip on the stone loosened and it dropped to the ground.

Venus looked up and had a quick glimpse of purple inside of a white cape when arms wrapped themselves around her from behind her and contracted tightly, making it hard to breath.

Minako kicked out behind her and felt her foot connect with a shin. Whoever had hold of her let out a pained grunt and their hold loosened. Venus pulled from the hurtful embrace and whirled around, her back to the sun. 

"Kunzite!" she screeched in shock.

His ice gray eyes glared at her, even more shocking in a pale face and even paler white blonde hair. His cape fluttered in the breeze and as with the last time they had seen him, nearly a century or more ago, his uniform was not buttoned on the top button. His white gloves showed no sign of wear. Indeed, it was like someone had plucked his image from her memory and set him in front of her. He had not aged a day!

"You are even more annoying than I remembered," he commented angrily. "And you've gotten better, but Sailor Moon is not here to save you this time with that bothersome Ginzuishou."

At the mention of Serenity, Venus' shock broke and she glared at him. "Daughter of Love and deliverer of Justice, I am Sailor Venus! I will make sure you _stay_ dead this time! Venus Love and Beauty Shock!"

Her yellow hearts flew at him, with the power of her anger behind them. He jumped over them and floated in the air. "New, new…" he muttered, a glimpse of apprehension crossing his face for half a second.

It gave Venus heart, for she had not been sure she could defeat him even now. She crossed her arms over her stomach and tips of her fingers glowed. Suddenly her hair was thrust in the air as she clasped her hands together over her chest. Her hands glowed yellow, and she yelled, "Venus Beauty Star!"

She held her clasped hands pointing toward him. Ten thin streams of light came from the cracks between her fingers and formed into a star twice the size of her clasped hands. Twirling madly, it flew at Kunzite followed by several smaller stars.

The King's eyes widened in horror and he erected his shield, but it wasn't powerful enough to stave off the attack. It did, however, take most of the damage for him so he wasn't badly wounded; only injured.

Growling in anger, Venus did her attack again. Kunzite knew he couldn't hold off the attack so he dodged. The only hope he saw was to close in for a hand-to-hand fight, which was what he did. 

Venus dodged most of his punches, but a few got her winded. She was slammed into the cliff face hard and she could practically feel the worry from Aphrodite. She smiled, one of determination. She would make her mother proud of her. 

She kicked out hard and connected with his stomach. She brought the heel of her hand up and hit his chin forcefully. He was knocked to the ground and lay there, stunned and fighting for breath. Venus began her new attack again, but lost control of it, and it dissipated when Aphrodite's voice screamed in her head.

"Don't kill him! He's your soulmate! Don't you feel it?!" 

Venus staggered back in shock and stared at Kunzite in revulsion. _"He can't be my soulmate! He's my enemy! He tried to kill Serenity so many times that I can't count them all! He can't _possibly_ be my soulmate!"_

Determination adding to her anger, she started her attack again, ignoring the shrieking inside her head from her mother. "Venus Beauty STAR!" she screamed.

Just as Kunzite regained his feet, the attack struck him straight in the chest. He screamed in agony, as he died, his body dissolving even as she stared at him. In moments he was nowhere to be seen.

Tentatively, Venus asked the empty air, "Mother?"

There was only silence and emptiness in her mind. Aphrodite had stopped yelling at her when her attack had hit Kunzite in the chest. She bent down to pick up the stone and was relieved to see it had not been harmed when she had dropped it. Wincing at the quietness in the air, Venus called on all the power she could, for she was very tired, to teleport back to the palace. Still clutching the stone, her body glowed orange and she disappeared.

A soft calling of a name broke the silence. Gray green eyes opened and looked around the blackness. Someone had called his name. He stood up and began to search for the source, even though it was very hard. Everything told him to go back to sleep, for he was very tired. Even so, Kunzite forced himself to keep looking.

End Chapter 6


	7. Chapter 07: The Lost Souls

Author's Notes:

If you need to email me, contact me here: Guardian4@atlantic.net. Please put fanfiction in the subject line so I know what it's pertaining to. I don't own Sailor Moon. It is the property of Naoko Tacheuchi. 

**Crystal Hearts**

When The War Ends 

_Chapter 7: The Lost Souls_

Venus collapsed on her knees, breathing heavily. In a kind of irony, she had been so worried about her memories of Allan and Katarina, she had not given a thought to her other memories, ones of the Dark Kingdom. 

Arms supported her to a chair and she looked up into a pair of blue eyes, light sapphire and full of concern. "Artemis," she whispered and cried into his shoulder. 

Artemis wrapped his arms around his charge. He alone had realized the strength of her decision to go to England. Ever since the war had started and they had begun searching the other continents, he had been the one to hear her fears about going back to England.

When the tears stopped, he put his arm around her waist and helped her walk to the medical bay. Mars was already there. She looked up as they entered and gave a small smile at her leader, noticing the tear marks, but attributing them to stress rather than their true cause.

"Where are Mercury and Jupiter?" she asked.

"They aren't back yet. Mars was the first to teleport here. The others haven't shown up," said a voice behind her. Venus immediately recognized that of Uranus. 

Artemis set her down in a chair and the blonde Senshi approached her and kneeled down to look into Venus' eyes. Venus gave her a look of weary confusion.

"Are you all right?" she whispered. 

Venus caught Mars' gaze over Uranus' head. Apparently she had asked this of the Soldier of War as well. Looking back into her anxious green eyes, she smiled. "Don't worry, I'm fine. Just very tired."

"Did you fight Kunzite?"

Venus looked again at Mars, but Mars wouldn't meet her eyes. Still gazing at the child of war, she said in a strong voice, "Yes. Yes, I did. And I won."

Mars' head snapped back to her, but Venus had looked back at Uranus and did not see. "I won."

Uranus smiled. She liked the Inners a lot and respected them for their beliefs, even if she didn't share some of them. "That's good. We shall have to wait for Mercury and Jupiter. Did you get the stone?"

Venus handed it over and Uranus, standing up, gave it Luna. Luna, in turn, put it on a table next to another stone, this one green. _It must be the jadeite that Mars went to find,_ she reflected.

"It could be a while before they arrive," Pluto told her as she entered the medical wing. "You might want to rest. Mars already has, although she had been forbidden to get up from her bed."

"Why?" asked Venus, bewildered.

"Because we don't want her to teleport out to get Mercury and Jupiter," was the dry reply. "'I want them to hurry up and get here' I believe is her exact words."

Venus chuckled. "Did you get a power-up as well?" came the Senshi of Time's voice again, but it sounded very far away to her. She barely had time to nod before she was asleep.

Artemis picked her up and put her in a medical bed to rest. He gave her a fond look and went to talk with Luna on the other side of the room.

Jupiter staggered and leaned against the wall of the crystal palace teleportation room, clutching her arm. The blood still flowed freely. She cursed. She had only just gotten out of there in time.

Makoto had left the ruins behind, but only for a few minutes before three creatures attacked her. One had had no arms, but four legs and shot fire out of its mouth; another had had two legs and long, gray leathery wings that wrapped around you and sucked out your life energy; and the last had had two small sets of black wings and arms with claws for hands that dripped poison.

Even with her power up, she knew she couldn't fight them and she didn't want to go back to the ruins, in case they followed. That would be sacrilegious to her. But she also knew she needed to save her power to teleport back to the palace. She had just managed to start the teleportation process when a shot of fire had caught her arm. Fortunately for her, once the process was started, it could not be aborted and she had managed to leave in time.

Walking slowly and dripping blood on the floor, Jupiter stumbled down to the medical quarters. Halfway there, she met up with Neptune, who gasped at the sight of her. 

Wrapping her arms around her injured companion, the Senshi of the Depths dragged Jupiter to the medical room. Venus was still asleep and Mars, shocked at Jupiter's condition, had to be restrained. "What happened? Did Nephrite do that to you?" she cried. 

Jupiter, who had been put in a chair and was having her arm dressed in bandages, looked at the red Soldier in surprise. "How did you know I fought with Nephrite?" she asked, wincing, as Luna pressed on the wound hard. She fought to pull her arm from the woman's grasp, but Uranus' hands were like iron on her shoulders, holding her still.

"I fought Jadeite and Venus fought Kunzite. I think it's reasonable to assume that we all fought one of the Kings."

Jupiter shrugged. "I fought him, yes, but he didn't do this. Three creatures attacked me as I was teleporting. Did you know that I'm Zeus' daughter?" she asked excitedly. 

Mars smiled. "Cool. I'm Ares' daughter."

Jupiter smiled back. "Did you also know that Pluto, Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn are the daughters of Chronos, Ouranos, Poseidon, and Hades?" she asked shrewdly.

"You're kidding!" she exclaimed.

"And I'm willing to bet that Venus and Mercury are Aphrodite and Hermes' daughters as well."

"Who would have thought? Does that mean that Serenity is the daughter of Selene, the Moon Goddess? No, wait, that can't be because Queen Serenity was her mother. Could Selene be her grandmother then?"

Jupiter shrugged. "Ask Mercury when she gets here. OW!! Watch it Luna!" she screeched as Luna tied a knot in the bandage and added some adhesive tape.

Uranus let her go when her bandage was on and helped her to a bed. She pried the nephrite from Jupiter's clenched hand and put it on the table next to the other stones. 

Jupiter glanced at Venus who was still asleep. "Is she all right?"

Mars nodded. "She's just asleep. She was exhausted when she showed up. And really upset."

"Why? Because she fought Kunzite?"

"I guess so."

They watched as Venus tossed on her bed, none knowing the reason she was so upset being that she had forced herself to kill her soulmate.

Mercury walked into the medical room like she owned it, which, indeed, she did. 

"Mercury!" cried Mars happily. Chibiusa whirled around from the window. She had only been there for ten minutes, but she, too, was soon caught up with the anxiety of waiting for the Senshi of Wisdom to return. She smiled happily. 

"Are you all right? What happened to you?" questioned Jupiter, seeing the tattered fuku. 

"Zoisite and his stupid but effective flower petals, that's what happened," she replied dryly. She quickly detransformed and transformed again. Her fuku was no longer ripped and frayed. It was whole, complete, and new looking. "That's better."

Venus, who had woken up at the time that Chibiusa had entered, stood up. "Did you get it?" Mercury nodded. "Good. That means we have all four stones. Um, does anyone have an idea of what we're supposed to do with them now?"

The Senshi looked at each other, none voicing a word. They looked at Luna and Artemis. They shook their heads. They looked at Mercury. Mercury cleared her throat and began to type on her computer. A few minutes later, under their stares, she sighed and shook her head. She didn't know either. 

"Well, bring the stones near each other," Mercury said at last. "Maybe I can see something about them that's unusual, but I doubt it."

"Then why do it?" Mars asked.

"Because Selene specifically said these kinds of stones so there must be a connection with it," she answered, wincing at the lame answer.

However, when the stones placed next to each other, they erupted with light. 

Jadeite thrust his arm forward toward the now wide crack with all his strength. Light flooded his vision and air touched his face. He smiled in relief, finally reaching that crack. He didn't understand why he'd felt it was so imperative that he did so, but now that it was done, he was ready to rest again. However, the unusual sensation of air on his skin and light all around him did not strike him as the same place he had been in for so long. He opened his eyes, but didn't get much time to look around. In his immediate vision was something far more important than the scenery. He figured at the sight before him that he wouldn't be resting any time soon.

The stars around Nephrite burst into light at a fever pitch. He threw his arm over his eyes to block it. He felt a tugging on him and was thrown forward into blackness. The blackness opened up into brightness in a second and his feet hit hard ground. He almost stumbled, barely able to recover and not fall on his face. He was completely disoriented and kept blinking at the bright light he now recognized as sunlight, something he had not seen for a very long time. Pulling his arm down, his eyes met a very hate filled pair of green eyes surrounded by locks of dark brown hair held up by a ponytail. 

Zoisite's blackness flashed once and he found himself in a room with many beds in it. But what drew his attention was the women in front of him. He backed up slightly at the glares from them. A woman in bright blue raised her arms threateningly and narrowed her sapphire eyes at him. He had no idea what made her so angry with him, but he had a feeling that it was not an advisable idea to stay in her vicinity with her so furious.

Kunzite was ready to give up on finding the voice when a circle of light flared at the corner of his eye. He held up his palm to it to block some of the brightness and slowly walked closer to inspect it. Suddenly, light tentacles grabbed his body and he tried to fight free of them. He didn't succeed and was pulled into the ball of light. When he blinked again, ten angry people surrounded him, nine women and one tall man with white hair and blue eyes. 

He backed up and his back abruptly hit someone else's. Both he and the person he had hit turned around and he felt his face split into a true smile. "Zoisite," he said in a comradely fashion. "Do you know what's going on?" he added quietly.

The women and man dropped into attack stances and instinctively he and his friends, for he recognized Nephrite's long red-brown hair and Jadeite's short blonde, dropped into defensive stances.

"Who do you think will win?" asked Diana to Chibiusa as they sat on stools and watched as the Senshi and Luna and Artemis get ready to fight the Dark Kingdom Shitennou. Chibiusa couldn't transform, but either way, neither Diana nor she had the same hatred of the Kings anyway. 

"I won't bet on who will win, I'll bet on how long the Shitennou will remain alive," retorted the princess.

Diana smiled. "Well, I give them ten seconds."

"Ten? You must be really optimistic. I barely give them five," answered Chibiusa. "I mean, really. Look at the Senshi! I haven't _ever_ seen them that angry! Even back in the twentieth century. I think the only way they would look like that, like they're going to rip someone apart limb from limb, would be if someone threatened Momma and Dad in a _really bad_ way."

"I guess you're right and we've all heard the stories of the Moon Kingdom and the Silver Millennium. I guess you're right. I would be that angry too if I saw the person that destroyed my entire way of life and my family and friends show up again. And not only that, but they just fought them not an hour ago!"

Chibiusa nodded and turned her attention back to the situation, which she was sure would have a fight break out in any second.

"Who are you and why are you threatening us?" asked Kunzite. 

However, the question seemed only to aggravate them further. A tall woman with short blonde hair and green eyes yelled, "You have the temerity to ask that! After what you did?!" She didn't wait for an answer but gave a scream of frustration and held her arm high into the air, her palm facing toward the ceiling. Another quick hand pulled her arm down jerkily.

"Hey, what do their outfits remind you of?" Jadeite asked suddenly. 

Kunzite and the others looked again. "They looked like the Senshi's, but I can't be sure since I've never actually seen them," replied Nephrite. 

"How can you say that you've never seen us!" shrieked a green clad woman. "You destroy our homes, our families, then come back a thousand years later and cause a ruckus! Then in the middle of a war you come back a century or more later! We fight you _again_ and when we're certain we must have beaten you for the _last _time, you show up again! Why can't you _stay dead_?!"

"I assure you," Nephrite began, entirely flustered. "We have no idea what you mean, nor have we ever died before. We are simply guards and the protectors of Prince Endymion—"

"Endymion!" interrupted Jadeite. "Where is Endymion?!"

The Shitennou looked around them frantically for their friend, but because of the circle of women, they didn't see much. 

"Burning Fire Strike!" yelled a woman in red.

Jadeite dropped to the ground, barely able to evade a stream of flame obviously meant for him. Kunzite, Nephrite, and Zoisite reluctantly pulled out their swords to defend themselves.

"Wait!" yelled a woman's commanding voice. It was obviously not any of the women in the circle as they all whirled as one to look behind them. Zoisite was the first to see her, already facing in that direction.

Her hair was a light blonde and fell to her feet, in the style of the Moon Family, and her dress was white with a set of wings in back that was so long, it trailed on the floor. She wore a crown on her head and wisdom in her blue eyes.

Next to her was a tall man with midnight black hair and dark blue eyes. He wore a black suit with an elaborate pendant on the lapel, designed with the symbol of the Terran Royal Family. His face was one that the Shitennou would never forget even if they lived a thousand lifetimes. He was…

"Endymion!" exclaimed Jadeite. 

"Momma! Dad!" cried a young girl with pink hair in a style like that of the lady only with elongated buns. The streamers of hair fell down to her shoulders. She wore a white dress that looked remarkably like the gown that Princess Serenity wore. She ran up to Endymion and the woman beside him, pushing past their legs and making them wobble precariously.

The woman dropped to her knees and, with tears in her eyes, welcomed her into her arms. "Oh, Chibiusa, are you alright?"

The young girl, Chibiusa, nodded with tears streaming down her own cheeks. Endymion knelt and hugged the girl tightly. Then Endymion and the woman stood up again. 

"What's going on here?" demanded Zoisite shakily. "Endymion, what…?"

The lady by his side ignored the Shitennou for a moment and turned to the woman in red. "Mars, please use your power and determine what I think I know is true. Are they possessed of Queen Metallia's energy?"

She looked long at hard at the Kings and especially Jadeite, as Kunzite noticed. She shook her head, a dumbfounded look on her face. "No, nothing. I don't believe it. But I just fought him and he was full of it!" she protested.

The woman turned to someone in an aquamarine outfit. "Neptune, please look in your mirror and tell me what you see."

The person she addressed pulled out a very strange mirror. Its handle and all around the glass was gold. The edgings were very elaborate and beautiful. She stared deeply into it and then shook her head.

"Mercury, scan them with your computer."

A woman dressed in a light blue outfit opened a compact computer and began typing on it. She looked up after a moment and she, too, shook her head. "My readings don't show a thing, nor do they show that they once _had been_ possessed, if these are really who we think they are," she added, giving them a dark look. 

Kunzite looked at all the women in strange clothes and found only one pair of eyes that held something other than loathing. A woman dressed in orange with bright blue eyes stared at him. She seemed to be fighting hatred, anger, and sadness. 

"I thought so," the woman in the white dress said. 

Kunzite turned his attention to her. "What? Could someone explain to me what is going on?" he questioned, putting his sword away. The other Shitennou followed his example.

She looked at him. "First, please tell us who you are."

With confusion, he introduced them. "I'm Kunzite; this is Zoisite, Nephrite, and Jadeite. I am the head guard under, and one of the protectors of, Prince Endymion, heir to Golden Kingdom, Elysian."

End Chapter 7

Ouranos is another way of spelling Uranus. I thought it would be better to use the different way of spelling it so it would be easier to differentiate between father and daughter.


	8. Chapter 08: Breezes Through Time

Author's Notes:

If you need to email me, contact me here: Guardian4@atlantic.net. Please put fanfiction in the subject line so I know what it's pertaining to. I don't own Sailor Moon. It is the property of Naoko Tacheuchi. 

**Crystal Hearts**

_When The War Ends_

_Chapter 8: Breezes Through Time_

The strange Endymion smiled. At their names, the strange women and man became even more hostile, but they didn't attack. "Who are you? Where are we? What's going on?" Nephrite questioned, keeping a wary eye on the warriors surrounding them.

"Permit me," the woman in white said. "I am Neo-Queen Serenity, this is my husband King Endymion, and my daughter, Usagi or more commonly know as Small Lady or Chibiusa. And these are my Senshi, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and Saturn. And this is Luna and Artemis, my advisors, and their daughter Diana. You are in 30th Century Crystal Tokyo. Almost 2000 years after the fall of the Silver Millennium," she added gently.

"I don't believe it," muttered Jadeite. 

"Believe it," Mars told him coldly. 

"So we're meeting the Senshi for the first time," Nephrite murmured. "It is too bad that they were not the ones in our time. They were a legend even among the other generations before them."

"I wouldn't bet on that," Pluto responded coolly. She then looked deep into all their eyes and took pity on them. They were completely confused and more than a little sad, distraught, and scared. "I think it is time to explain to you what really happened." She turned to her Queen and King. "I think we should take them to the briefing room and explain what happened. They have no memory of the Dark Kingdom. Not only do we owe them an explanation, we need to know what they do remember and maybe ask a few questions." She was not completely sure this was not an act, but she was 95% sure they were telling the truth, whatever the truth was. 

The Queen nodded and led the way, the Senshi arguing vehemently behind the Shitennou.

"Pluto, what is this all about?!" Jupiter demanded. "You of all people should remember what they did to the Moon and the rest of the planets! They murdered everyone on my home!" To her embarrassment, tears fell from her eyes.

"What is the big idea of this?" Mars exclaimed angrily. "If they make one false move, I will fry them to charcoal, starting with Jadeite!"

Mercury tried to put her arm around Jupiter, but between the tall Soldier's height and shrugging off her sympathy, it didn't work too well. This didn't bother Mercury much because she knew Makoto was trying to appear strong in the Kings' eyes and not give in to more tears. "I think we should trust Pluto. She is the Time Guardian after all and she has more experience than any of us," she said quietly. 

Pluto gave her a grateful look. "Thank you, Mercury," she whispered.

The Senshi subsided into silence as they entered the briefing room. The carpet was a soft gray and the dark brown table in the center room ran from one end to the other, with many chairs set at strategic intervals. Even after they had been seated, there were still many chairs left empty. 

Kunzite couldn't help but notice that a Senshi sat between each of the Shitennou so anything they said to each other the Soldier would know. The Soldier in orange, Venus, sat on his right while Endymion sat on his left, three chairs down. On Venus' right was Jadeite and next to him was the red Soldier, Mars. Next on was Zoisite and next to him the Soldier in light blue, Mercury. And last was Nephrite, on whose right was the Senshi in green, Jupiter. They seemed the most keen to keep them apart. 

On the opposite side of the table in his immediate vision was the dark blue and yellow Soldier, Uranus. There was an empty chair then the aquamarine Soldier, Neptune, was directly across from Jadeite. Another empty chair and the Soldier in purple, Saturn, was directly across from Zoisite. Yet another empty chair and the last Soldier in black and maroon, Pluto, sat across from Nephrite. 

They certainly weren't taking any chances, he reflected as he watched the Queen sit on Endymion's left. The young princess, Chibiusa, sat across from her parents next to another young girl with short hair in gray clothing, a silk vest and silk pants it looked like. _That must be Diana._

The advisor Luna sat down next to the Queen. She had long black hair with four balls on top and the rest was loose, falling down towards her waist. She wore black leggings and a hunter green vest with an off-white shirt underneath it. 

On the other side of the table, on the princess' left, sat the male advisor, Artemis. The man had white hair that reached to his waist and he was dressed in pure white. Very carefully hidden, but in easy access of his hand, was a dagger. 

"I think I should begin," Pluto began. "Now, you lived in the Silver Millennium. That time was over a thousand years ago. On the Moon, there was Queen Serenity with the Ginzuishou. I assume you know all this?" They nodded. Pluto's eyebrows drew together. "Could you tell me what you don't know so I don't go over what you do and save us some time?"

"Well," Kunzite started, "We know that there lived Queen Serenity on the Moon and held the Ginzuishou. She had a daughter and she and Prince Endymion were going to be betrothed. We were the prince's guards and protectors. We had heard of the Senshi and…it seems like the longer I talk, the more I remember," he commented. 

"What do you mean?" asked Pluto quickly.

"Well, my memories tended to be fuzzy, but when I speak, the things I say are things I instinctively know and the more I talk, things that I don't instinctively know come back. Anyway, I don't remember actually meeting the Senshi. I'd heard of them; we all did, but the opportunity just always seemed to pass us by, I guess. At least, that's what I remember. Maybe we did, because I have the feeling that I know some of you. We know that the Senshi protected the Royal Family on the Moon. And that's pretty much it." He looked at his friends to see if they might have remembered anything he hadn't, but they shook their heads. Kunzite shrugged.

Pluto cleared her throat. "No doubt that some things I am going to say will upset you. Your first reaction will be to deny it, but bear with me please. I only speak the truth and being the Time Guardian, I do know what the truth is, trust me on that. The Silver Millennium was destroyed by a force named Metallia and under her, Queen Beryl. She had taken control of the Earth and then destroyed the other planets. At last, when she had gathered enough power and a very large army, she attacked the Moon. The Senshi you see before you were in the Silver Millennium. They had all died, but Queen Serenity made a wish on the Ginzuishou and used the last of her power to send everyone to safety, which happened to be a millennium into the future. 

"They were reborn there. After fourteen years of peace, Luna was forced to awaken the Inner Senshi, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus, with a new addition, Sailor Moon, who had never been the in Silver Millennium. They defeated Beryl and all went peaceful after that. After a few more enemies that had surfaced, and after finding out and going to the future and seeing Crystal Tokyo as it had been a few years ago, they met the Outer Senshi, Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn. I am considered an Outer Senshi, though they met me before they met the other Outers. Most likely you would not have met the Outers before because they were outer perimeter Senshi and I was at the Gate of Time. 

"After a few problems, Inner and Outer Senshi made their peace between themselves. Finally, after many years and a time in which the Earth was frozen, Neo-Queen Serenity, who was Sailor Moon and Princess Serenity in the Silver Millennium, woke everyone. She married King Endymion, Tuxedo Kamen and Prince Endymion from the Silver Millennium. This is the Golden Millennium, you are in the Crystal Palace in Tokyo, and Chibiusa is the crown princess of this time. 

"Now, back to the Dark Kingdom. Under Queen Beryl, there were four lords of the Dark Kingdom. Please be quiet here; these lords were Shitennou. The Kings in ranking order of highest to lowest were Kunzite, Zoisite, Nephrite, and Jadeite."

"Impossible!" exclaimed Jadeite without thinking. 

Mars hit him in the arm and hissed, "She said do not speak and if she said do not speak, you keep your rat trap shut!"

They glared at each other. 

"What is the last memory you have?" questioned Pluto calmly. 

Kunzite stared at the wall, thinking hard. "The last thing I can clearly remember is being in the war room with Prince Endymion and his father. There were a few rebel factions that had come to our attention and we wanted to disperse them without injury to either side and without force if it could be helped."

Zoisite pondered for a moment. "I remember walking through the rose gardens, looking for Endymion. It was his favorite place to be, after all. His mother wanted to talk to him about a ball."

Nephrite ran his fingers over the wooden table, feeling it smooth with varnish and polish. "I remember being in the star chart room. I've always loved the stars and I took some time that night to just relax and watch the beauty above me. When I left, I was anxious about something, but I don't remember what."

Jadeite looked the palest of them all. His fingers would tap the desk every now and then in anxiety. He seemed to have completely forgotten about being hit by Mars. "I remember running from room to room. The palace was in an uproar because three of the four Shitennou, Kunzite, Nephrite, and Zoisite, were missing and Endymion was nowhere to be found. They suspected he was on the Moon for another visit with Princess Serenity, but there was no excuse for the other Shitennou to be gone as well."

There was silence for a moment. 

"How could Zoisite be looking for Endymion in the rose garden and Kunzite be with him in the war room at the same time?" asked Jupiter suspiciously.

"Unless…" murmured Pluto. "I have a theory, no more than that. I think that Beryl got a hold of the Kings and brainwashed them, each at different times. Did you notice a reoccurring theme? Every memory has Endymion in it in some way. We all know that Beryl loved Endymion."

Jupiter stood up abruptly. Everyone's attention fixed on her. "I don't believe a word of the lies that are spewing from their mouths," she stated angrily. "They are very good at lying, aren't they? They've shown that! How do we know that they're telling the truth?!"

"Jupiter, look at them," Pluto told her. "Look at what they're wearing. Can you tell me that those are Dark Kingdom uniforms?"

Jupiter looked down at the four Kings. All looked back at her silently. 

Kunzite wore a white shirt with a black vest over it and black pants. His cape was white on the outside and red on the inside. Jadeite wore a blue shirt with a royal sapphire vest with gray pants. His cape was exactly identical to Kunzite's. Zoisite wore a light green shirt with a white vest and black pants. Like Kunzite and Jadeite's cape, his was white with red on the inside. Her eyes slid to Nephrite. He wore a white shirt with a brown vest and earthen pants. His cape was like the others. On each of their hips they wore a gray sheath with a sword in it. Kunzite wore a golden chain with diamonds linking the cape ends together at the front of his shirt. Jadeite's chain was silver with sapphires, Zoisite's was bronze with emeralds, and Nephrite's was black with rubies in it. 

Jupiter looked away. They didn't look like the Dark Kingdom Shitennou in those clothes, but that still didn't mean that they weren't from the Dark Kingdom. She sighed silently. All she really wanted to do was leave, but she wouldn't; she knew she wouldn't do that because of the importance of this meeting and her instinctive distrust of the Shitennou. She forced herself to sit down, avoiding Nephrite's brown eyes that watched her silently. 

Pluto cleared her throat. "Are you saying you remember nothing beyond that? You remember nothing of fighting with the Inner Senshi at all?"

They shook their heads. 

Mercury took out her computer and began to type. "Look, we can deal with this later. We have a war going on. Uranus, did they notice our absence? How long have we been gone? None of us, I'm betting, knew."

"They noticed your absence within a day. Mars was gone for three days, Venus came back second and she was gone for four to five days. Jupiter was the third to return and she was gone a week and a day. You got back the last and came back the same day that Jupiter did."

Mercury continued to type on her computer and then she turned to the Shitennou. "Look, I don't know how you got here, but listen up," she told them coldly. "We have been fighting a war for five months now. We have gathered survivors from all over the world and brought them to the Crystal Palace. When Chibiusa went outside the palace and the barrier a week ago, which is the only thing they can't pass, she was attacked. Neo-Queen Serenity and King Endymion went to fight it, but were attacked and after we had gotten them back in the palace, we couldn't get them to wake up after that. Then the Goddess of the Moon, Selene, appeared before us and told us we had to get four kinds of stones. We did and you appeared. She had told us that the stones were the missing link to awaken the King and Queen and win the war. My theory is that it is not the stones themselves that is supposed to do that, but you."

"But I just don't understand," Mars exclaimed. "Selene said the Shitennou we knew in our past when we were fourteen were dead, but they obviously aren't."

"That's what she said, but what if it's what Pluto said as well," Neptune began. "What if they were brainwashed and you killed that version of them. What if these Kings are like completely different people from them? That would mean that the Shitennou you fought were dead, but the Shitennou that you didn't fight weren't."

Mars remained skeptical, but grew quiet.

The Kings looked at each other. "I don't know how we're supposed to help you win the war, but we can add our talents to yours," Kunzite told them cautiously. 

Neo-Queen Serenity stood up. "It is late and this has been a very hard day. Endymion will show you where you will be staying in the palace," she told the Shitennou. "Senshi, you need to rest as well. You've put in a long, hard week or more."

It was obvious the Soldiers were uncomfortable at letting the Kings out of their sight, especially the Inners, but as it was a request, not an order, from their friend, they would do as asked. But that didn't mean they had to like it. 

Endymion stood up and the Shitennou followed him. They walked down a corridor, the Kings questioning their friend extensively. 

"So you actually married the princess and had a daughter," commented Jadeite. "What exactly is a Tuxedo Kamen?"

Endymion laughed and turned a corner. Four doors were set down another long corridor that they were barely able to see the end to. Two doors were on each wall. After some debate, Kunzite and Zoisite got the rooms on the left wall and Jadeite and Nephrite the ones on the right. 

They relaxed in Kunzite's room to talk. "I was Tuxedo Kamen. When I was reborn on Earth, I was born as Chiba Mamoru. When the Dark Kingdom and others attacked again, I was Tuxedo Kamen, fighter for justice," he told them uncertainly. He wasn't sure how they would react to the mention of the Dark Kingdom.

He was surprised however, when they didn't react much at all to the mention of them. It seemed to him that it was like he was telling a story about someone else, instead of those Shitennou as themselves.

"So Serenity was Sailor Moon? Wasn't that a bit dangerous of them?" asked Zoisite, lying on the bed.

"You see, through most of the battling, we didn't know we were the prince and princess and neither did the Senshi or the Dark Kingdom," he answered, sitting in a chair near the door. Nephrite sat in another chair opposite him near a desk, Jadeite sat on the edge of the bed, and Kunzite leaned against the wall. _Just like old times again_, Endymion reflected.

"Reborn without any memories," commented Kunzite. "Convenient. What about your daughter? Is she just a princess or is she a Senshi?"

Endymion sighed. "You see, when we first met Chibiusa, she had come from the future to the past. We didn't know she was our daughter until later. Then she came back a second time to train to become a Senshi. She was known as Sailor Chibimoon. But ever since she came back, she's been unable to transform. Ordinarily, you would think she would become Sailor Moon since Usako isn't anymore."

"Usako?" asked Zoisite.

"Usako is Serenity. You see, all of us were born as different people. Serenity was born as Tsukino Usagi. When we started dating, I began to call her Usako. She started calling me Mamo-chan."

"What were the other Senshi's names?" questioned Jadeite.

Endymion looked hesitant. "I'm not sure I should tell you, but I guess it can't hurt. Just remember to call them by their Senshi names. We call them that when in public. Also, don't mention you know their names unless they actually tell you. I don't know how well it would go over if they knew I told you without their permission." The Shitennou nodded in agreement. "Okay, Mercury is Mizuno Ami, Mars is Hino Rei, Jupiter is Kino Makoto, and Venus is Aino Minako. The Outers were always a bit more in experience and older than the Inners. Uranus is Tenoh Haruka, Neptune is Kaioh Michiru, Pluto is Meioh Setsuna, and Saturn is Tomoe Hotaru."

"Pretty names," remarked Nephrite. 

They talked late into the night before Endymion left and the other Kings retired to their own rooms to sleep. 

When Endymion slipped into the bed he shared with his wife, she rolled over and draped her arm over his chest. "Did everything go well with the Shitennou?" she asked sleepily. 

"It did," he murmured back, smiling. His friends were back and that was just about all he cared about. But the real problem still lay ahead and it wasn't the war. When the war ended, would things calm down between the Senshi and the Shitennou? 

End Chapter 8


	9. Chapter 09: For A New World

Author's Notes:

If you need to email me, contact me here: Guardian4@atlantic.net. Please put fanfiction in the subject line so I know what it's pertaining to. I don't own Sailor Moon. It is the property of Naoko Tacheuchi. 

**Crystal Hearts**

When The War Ends 

_Chapter 9: For A __New World___

Mercury led the Shitennou to the security room. It held computers and monitor screens galore. The other Senshi were already there, except for Pluto. Mars and Jupiter gave the Kings a suspicious look, but didn't say anything. 

Mercury sat down and brought up an information database that she had made on the enemy. "Okay, first off, there is no specific kind of enemy here. You have all sorts of creatures. Two, they are extremely hard to kill and very powerful. We haven't yet seen a particular motive other than kill, maim, destroy. And three, the Ginzuishou doesn't affect them at all and neither do the Outers' talismans."

The Shitennou exchanged glances. "The Ginzuishou doesn't work against them?" repeated Zoisite. "That certainly means that this enemy is very hard to defeat. We haven't heard of anything that hasn't ever been affected by the Ginzuishou."

Mercury turned around in her chair to stare at the Kings. "Okay, besides fighting prowess, do you have any magical powers? You obviously have some to have lived as long as you did without any help," she added wryly.

"Each of us has a few special abilities that I guess you could call magical powers," Kunzite said slowly. "Not much that would be of help here, though. To use them to any effect, most of us would have to be in direct combat."

"What are they?"

"Zoisite has a few abilities that might be classified as healing, but only where he can keep the wound at bay long enough for someone else to heal it. For the most part though, his magic revolves around ice or more specifically, ice spears. He has always had an uncanny ability to read an enemy's patterns of movement and attack. We don't think it's a mind-reading ability, but something akin to it."

"Interesting," she commented. "How about the rest of you?"

"Nephrite, obviously, with his ability to read the stars. Magic wise, he really doesn't have an element to command. He has a number of spells at his disposal, and most are on a wide-range scale, dealing damage from the skies most of the time. However, it takes a little longer to use these spells, as they are not specifically like your powers that they are summoned in mere seconds. Nephrite does have very strong telepathy, which makes it quite easy to coordinate moves and strategy. However, he can only use this particular ability among his friends and those that he's either known for a very long time or who have a marginal ability for telepathy themselves.

"Jadeite you might say is a jack-of-all-trades. His magical abilities are few, though, but well placed. He has numerous spells that can enhance us or disable enemies, such as temporary blindness. However, some spells only work on some kinds of enemies. He is quick and agile, though, so if the spell doesn't work, he can get out of danger before he's harmed. Jadeite's true strength is in his summoning spells."

"What can he summon?" Neptune asked, curious.

"Anything that I've seen before," the King in question answered.

"And yourself?" Mercury prompted.

"I have a few powers, but not so many. A few earth-based attacks, but my strength lies in my physical fighting and tactical strategies. But as you can see, our powers are really abilities. They would do us really no good in a war, not if the war is to stop. They are useful in short battles, but not in the kind of war-prevention or ending as you wish to have."

"What do you suggest then?" Uranus asked, almost no heat in her voice as she studied the warriors before her with a glint in her eye.

"Well—"

"I think I've found it," Pluto stated, walking into the room.

The Senshi and Shitennou jumped. They hadn't heard her enter at all. "Found what?" demanded Jupiter.

"Why Selene said that we needed the stones that would help us win the war."

"Really?" asked Mars excitedly. The sooner the war was over, the sooner it was that she could get Jadeite out of her sight, preferably not alive, and things would get back to normal.

"Okay, keep in mind that I am the Time Guardian and some things are privileged information so don't repeat it to anyone besides the Royal Family or Luna, Artemis, and Diana, okay?

"Now a long time ago, when the Silver Millennium was just created, an enemy that was extremely powerful attacked. Seems like a reoccurring theme, right? Evil is always drawn to goodness. The Queen of the Moon at the time hadn't had the time to completely master the powers of the Ginzuishou, therefore rendering that kind of attack useless. So the Senshi of the Inner planets came up with a plan that would defeat and keep the enemy away forever. 

"Since the Moon and the Earth were on good terms at the time, they collaborated with five kings that were all over the world. They had never met each other before until they were summoned to the Moon. They agreed to go through with the plan."

"What was the plan?" asked Jadeite.

"I'm getting there," she snapped. "They had had an idea. You see, they knew that if the enemy was ever sighted again, it would completely get passed the outer reaches of the system by then so beginning another war was fruitless and they would never win. So the Inner Senshi had decided to make a spell that would prevent the war from occurring ever again. 

"They would make a star circle. They needed someone from each of the planets of Mercury, Venus, the Moon, Mars, and Jupiter. However, since Earth was the most populated, they needed five people from that planet to willingly be apart of the spell and they needed the people to be from the four corners and center of the Earth to represent a whole. 

"These kings agreed. The Moon Family line would always be the star from the Moon and the Senshi of the Inner planets, no matter who they were, would be the stars of their planets. On the other hand, only the descendants of the five kings of Earth would be the people able to be the stars of their planet. They had to be descendants or the spell wouldn't work. 

"When the spell was ready and the participants agreed, the Inner Senshi and the Moon Queen made a five pointed star. Facing each of the Inner Senshi and the Queen were the five kings of the Earth, making another star inside of a star. 

"With their will and power united, the spell was created, completely banishing the enemy. As long as the kings and their descendants were always on good terms with the Inner Senshi, the Moon, and themselves, and provided that they lived at the same time, the spell would remain complete and intact. It took power to actually banish the enemy, but to keep up the invisible barrier around the solar system did not. They had decided to tie the barrier part of the spell to the relations between the kings, Senshi, and the Moon Family so it would be easier. They could not foresee that one day relations between the Moon and Earth would be estranged. 

"The reason the Ginzuishou doesn't affect the enemy now, even though Neo Queen Serenity has complete control over it, is because the star spell didn't incorporate the Ginzuishou. Will gave power and that was what they used. Also, because of the feel of the Ginzuishou that they had a long time ago, they now have defenses against it.

"Now here is the situation. Selene said that if Serenity hadn't sent Chibiusa back into the past, Nehelenia wouldn't have awoken. The Inner Senshi would then have had the time to find the stones, therefore finding the Shitennou in front of us. The Shitennou are important because they are the descendants from the original kings from the star circle. Endymion is the fifth king. We have to do this spell to get rid of the enemy."

There was silence. 

"Oh, that's just perfect," Mars stated sarcastically. "Did it ever occur to you Setsuna that there are a few problems with this whole plan? For one, the Inner planets no longer _exist_, thanks to the Dark Kingdom and helped by the Shitennou." She glared at the Kings. "And in case you haven't noticed, relations between the Inner Senshi and the Shitennou are about as estranged as it can get."

"I can see that, Mars," Pluto retorted. "That is where the problem lies. In order for this spell to work, and it is the only way to defeat the enemy, you have to come to an agreement. The spell will settle for anything less than open hostility. You don't have to like each other, but you have work together in some kind of semblance of a good relationship. The Outers and myself will distract the enemy while you power the spell. I suggest you get working on that relationship because it may be awhile before you can get to the point where you aren't showing open hostility. This is why it was almost imperative that you had found the crystals before Crystal Tokyo."

"Why?" asked Jupiter, not at all happy about the components for the spell.

"Because if you had then we wouldn't have this problem of relationship right now," she explained. "You would have gotten over what had gone on in the past and because of the arrival of the Shitennou and the good relationship that would have eventually would have happened, this war would have been prevented. Besides, the spell called for the _Senshi_ of the Inner planets, not for the planets themselves."

"It's all because of Beryl that this happened," Venus muttered under her breath. "I despise that woman."

Pluto beckoned to the Outers. "We have to tell the King and Queen about this."

They departed and the Inners and Shitennou found themselves alone with each other in the room. There was an awkward and antagonistic silence. 

Mercury sighed and glanced at Venus. Her eyebrows drew together in confusion. The leader of the Senshi had the most peculiar expression on her face. Something like pain.

"Okay, guys, we have to try to work together," the orange Soldier stated. "If we don't, Crystal Tokyo will fall and us with it."

"Exactly how are we going to do that?" asked Mars. "How can I forget what they did to my planet? To _all_ the planets? They're evil, for crying out loud!" 

"For one, we need to stop thinking they're evil because they aren't. You of all people, Rei-chan, should know that since you have your psychic power."

Mars looked away. The Shitennou listened to the conversation in silence. The Inners seemed to have forgotten that they were even there. They glanced at each, sharing a very sad look. This was not their time and they were unused to it. They couldn't help but feel as if they should have died a long time ago. And even though they could not remember anything about the things they were supposed to have done to the planets and what made the Inner Senshi so angry, they felt bad about it all the same. Their presence was causing all of this stress, but they didn't know what to do about it. They couldn't just leave Endymion. It was their sworn duty to protect him and that was what they were going to do while they still had breath to do it.

Venus turned to the Shitennou. "Okay, this is how the spell is going to work. Kunzite, you will be my counterpart, Nephrite will be Jupiter's, Zoisite will be Mercury's, and Jadeite will be Mars'. I suggest we spend time with our counterparts and get to know them. Maybe that will help."

The other Senshi did not look thrilled about this concept, but Venus was the leader and they did as she said. 

Three days later, the maximum amount of time they could have to get a semblance of a good relationship going, the Royal Family, all the Senshi, Luna, Artemis, Diana, and the Kings gathered in the security room that monitored the entire palace. 

"Well?" asked Pluto to the Inners.

In the three days that they had been given, relations had lessened from open hostility, but there was still much anger against the Kings. 

"Good. We'll do the spell just outside the barrier. Let's go."

The Outer Senshi left first, outside the palace and barrier. They engaged the enemy ferociously and a minute later the concentration of the foe's attention was fixed on the battle and nothing else.

The Inner Senshi and the Shitennou slipped out of the barrier quietly, positioning themselves into two large five-pointed stars. Endymion was the counterpart of Serenity and she smiled at him. Mercury avoided looking at Zoisite for the most part. Mars and Jupiter glared at Nephrite and Jadeite most of the time. Venus just stared into Kunzite's eyes sadly. 

Her soulmate was in front of her and she loved him, but she was also feeling the same things for him as the other Senshi were. Anger and resentment for what their evil counterparts had done. She was fighting a battle against the love and hatred and it was tearing her apart inside.

Five lines of power and white in color connected the four Senshi and the Queen. Then a golden star was made, connecting the Shitennou and the King. The Inner Senshi's auras flared up toward the sky in a beam in their colors and white did the same for the Queen.

Golden beams emitted from the Kings and Endymion. Suddenly Mercury found herself looking deeply into Zoisite's eyes and he into hers and she couldn't pull away. It was as if the spell was forcing them to connect soul to soul to each other and read each other's minds.

Mars, Jupiter, and Venus felt the same. The only people who did not try to fight it were Venus, Serenity, and Endymion. The enemy's attention snapped to the star and attempted to attack them, hoping to stop the spell. 

In doing so, they took their attention off of the Outer Senshi who took the opportunity to launch an all-out offensive. Forced to defend themselves, they could only watch as the spell began to reach its completion. 

The two stars brightened and launched into the sky, white and gold both. Released from the spell, the Inner Senshi collapsed, caught by the Shitennou who were near falling with exhaustion as well. Both stars flew across the planet, destroying all the creatures that attacked the Earth. 

When the stars passed by them, the Outers discovered that it went straight through them without harm. In fact, they felt themselves grow warm at the emotions coming from the power. The ten people had been united in one common goal and that was to defeat the enemy ravaging the Earth. They smiled at each other; it was a feeling unlike any other when that kind of goal was the same for everyone.

Light seemed to come from the Earth itself, propelling any creatures that had not been killed into the depths of space. When all the enemies were gone, both stars floated back to the Earth and were absorbed into the ground, creating the invisible barrier around the planet that would soon expand until it encompassed their entire solar system. 

End Chapter 9


	10. Chapter 10: Ice Frontier

Author's Notes:

If you need to email me, contact me here: Guardian4@atlantic.net. Please put fanfiction in the subject line so I know what it's pertaining to. I don't own Sailor Moon. It is the property of Naoko Tacheuchi. 

**Crystal Hearts**

When The War Ends 

_Chapter 10: Ice Frontier_

"Will the barrier keep _all_ enemies from attacking again?" asked Chibiusa, walking along beside Pluto to the teleportation room.

"Unfortunately, no. Only that enemy, but we can defeat anything else. Don't worry about that."

Chibiusa smiled, but it disappeared a moment later. "Are you going now?"

Pluto looked down at the young girl. "I'm sorry, but yes. The Outer Senshi have a duty to do and that is to guard the outer perimeter. You know we come back every few weeks."

"But it's only been a week since the war ended! Can't you stay a little longer? I hardly got a chance to talk to you and Hotaru-chan."

"I'm sorry," was all Pluto could think to say to the downtrodden look on her face. 

When they entered the teleportation room, they noticed the other Senshi, Shitennou, and the Royal Family waiting for them. The golden star glowed on the floor as it always did when it sensed the imminence of a teleportation. The blue crystal of the walls reflected the golden light, making the shadows jump around the room. 

The Outer Senshi took up four points on the star, leaving the top point empty. It was traditionally for five people, specifically for the Inner Senshi and Sailor Moon, as it had been designed for that so long ago in the Control Room under the Crown Game Center before Crystal Tokyo had been created. Once the city had soared, they had shifted the teleportation pad to the palace.

With one last goodbye, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and Saturn glowed with their signature color and disappeared. Chibiusa slowly left the room first to find Diana. 

"I think it is time to let the survivors know the war has ended," Endymion said. 

They had left a week open in case there were a few stragglers of creatures that hadn't been destroyed, but they had found nothing. Now that they were sure the war was over, they had to tell the people in the palace that were waiting for news.

Neo Queen Serenity and King Endymion left, followed by the Inner Senshi. Quietly, the Shitennou trailed after, staying a discreet distance behind. 

They gathered all the survivors in the largest room in the palace, the throne room. There were many scared and confused faces looking back at the monarchs. A moment of silence filled the room and then they announced that the war was over. For a moment, it was still silent, as if it hadn't sunk in yet, but then small ripples of voices began. Soon there were loud cheers from every corner of the room. 

The crowd began a haphazard exodus toward the outside, where they hadn't been for six months. The Kings moved out of the way, but someone knocked into Nephrite. He looked down just as the person looked up.

It was a beautiful young woman with long, bright red hair tied back, a pale aquamarine bow tying it together at the nape of her neck. Her eyes widened in shock and tears pooled in her eyes when she stared at him. She whispered something he didn't hear and he asked her to repeat it. 

"Sanjouin-sama? Sanjouin Masato?"

"I'm sorry, but—"

"I KNEW it was you," she said and hugged him tightly. He lifted his head and looked around helplessly. His eyes connected with Jupiter's gaze and he realized she had been watching him. There was a strange look in her eyes, besides the ever-present suspicion, and as soon as he looked at her she turned on her heel, abruptly leaving the room.

The woman linked her arm with his and looked up at him with love and longing. He didn't want to hurt her, but he had to tell her that he was not the person that she had apparently mistaken him for. 

"Excuse me, but my name is not Sanjouin—"

"I know, I just didn't know if I could call you that now after all that had happened before. Nephrite, how are you…" She trailed off and shook her head. "It doesn't matter. You're back and that's all that does."

Nephrite stared down at her head in shock. How did she know him? He had no idea who she was. He glanced appealingly at his friends, but they were gone. Only a few people remained in the room, most still in the process of leaving. There were no Senshi left either.

"Nephrite?" came the voice of an angel.

He looked behind him and so did the woman. It was Neo Queen Serenity. "Yes?"

She smiled. "Naru-chan, do you mind terribly? I really must talk to Nephrite for a while. It is important to the rebuilding of the world. I promise you can have him back, I know you've waited so long."

The woman looked a bit downcast, but said, "All right, Usa—Serenity."

Neo Queen Serenity and Nephrite walked slowly down the corridor leading to the front entrance of the palace, talking all the while. 

"Do all your subjects call you Serenity? I should think they should call you Your Majesty. So much has changed since…" He trailed off, disappointed. 

Serenity smiled. "Actually, Naru-chan is a close friend of mine from when I was younger. Everyone I don't know that aren't close to me, such as my family, friends, and Senshi, does call me Your Majesty or something like that. Things haven't changed all that much, Nephrite."

"If you don't mind my asking, but who was that woman exactly and why did she seem so certain she knew me? What did…? How did…?" He just couldn't bring himself to say 'I'. That he had done something like what he had heard he had done to the Senshi.

She got a sad look on her face. "I know you don't remember of what I speak and I know it wasn't you who did that, not you as a person, anyway. Well, we'll call the King in Beryl's army Lord Nephrite, all right?" He nodded. "After we defeated the evil Jadeite in Beryl's army, another King emerged. He made an identity to live by in the human world only so he could carry out his plans. That name was Sanjouin Masato. Now, Lord Nephrite met up with Osaka Naru, my friend, in his disguise. Naru-chan immediately fell in love with him. Apparently there were a few problems between Lord Nephrite and another King we hadn't yet seen by the name of Zoisite. When it became apparent to Lord Zoisite that Lord Nephrite had fallen in love with Naru-chan in return though he didn't know it, he used Naru-chan as bait. Lord Nephrite, in order to catch me as Sailor Moon, for at this time no one, including me, knew I was Princess Serenity, told Naru-chan he was from the Dark Kingdom, but wanted to leave. He lied to her when he said he wanted to leave, but she believed him. 

"She had no idea that I was Sailor Moon, though I knew her of course. He had realized this. Trapping me with an illusion, I was forced to transform and he found out who I was. It was only myself, Mercury, and Mars who were the Sailor Team at this point in time. When Lord Nephrite saved Naru-chan from harm, they hid. Lord Zoisite, however, found them. He wanted a crystal from Lord Nephrite and he tried to take it by force. He killed Lord Nephrite and disappeared. Mercury, Mars, and I had just arrived in time to destroy Lord Zoisite's youma. Lord Nephrite said he wished he had time to date Naru-chan, but he didn't. When he died, Naru-chan was really upset. Eventually she started dating other men, but she never married because she's always been in love with Lord Nephrite. Keep in mind that you and Lord Nephrite look exactly the same even if your personality and such is not. She believes you to be the same King in the Dark Kingdom that she knew turned good, actually because of her."

Nephrite was silent for a moment, thinking about this. How would he explain to this Naru that he was not who she thought he was? Would she believe him? "When Naru hugged me, I saw Jupiter watching me. She had a peculiar look in her eyes then abruptly left the room. Why? Does she think I would harm Naru?"

Serenity laughed. "I do not presume to know what goes on in Mako-chan's head." He forced his face into a puzzled look at the name, but she just laughed again. "Do not try to fool me, Nephrite. I know very well that you know our civilian names. I know Endy told you. He wouldn't have been able to help himself. He loves you all like brothers."

"And you are not angry with him?"

She shook her head. "No. I would have done the same if the situation was reversed, but I cannot say that for the Senshi. Give them time; I think they will come around."

They had come to the castle door and with a smile at him, Serenity left. Nephrite stood for a moment and then turned down a left hand corridor to think about what Serenity had told him. He didn't want to hurt Naru, but he didn't want her to believe a lie either. 

He sighed. Thinking so deeply, he didn't hear someone calling his name until they clapped a hand on his shoulder. Startled, he whirled around. Jadeite blinked at him. "What's up with you? I called your name five times."

"Just thinking."

"Mmhmm. Well, I don't know what you did, but Jupiter is sure in a right mood now," he said dryly. "I'd stay away from her if you value your life. She's pissed."

Nephrite cocked his head. "Jadeite, walk with me. I have to ask you something."

Jadeite followed his brown haired friend, worried. Nephrite never usually asked questions of mortals; he always consulted his stars. "What?"

Quietly and quickly, Nephrite outlined what Serenity had told him. "What do you think I should do about this Naru? I don't have the slightest clue what to do."

Jadeite leaned against the wall of the corridor and Nephrite stopped walking. "I don't know, Nephrite. I think you should ask Kunzite. He's always been the type to know what to do about dilemmas like this. Or you could even try Endymion. I mean, he lived then and he obviously knew her so he might be able to give you some sound advice."

Nephrite smiled. Jadeite might not be able to give advice, but he was always right when it came to telling someone who to go to _get_ good advice. "Thanks, Jadeite."

"Welcome. Now come on. Don't stay inside, come out."

A quiet week passed, although it was filled with much physical labor as they tried to rebuild what had been destroyed. After much negotiating, the Shitennou had finally succeeded in getting the Senshi and everyone a day off. Jadeite and Nephrite, on Jadeite's suggestion, had taken a stroll outdoors. Jadeite felt concerned because Nephrite had yet to ask Kunzite, Endymion, or the stars his question. For the most part, he steered clear of Naru, which did not take care of the problem.

"Nephrite, you can't just keep avoiding her. She's really upset when you do," he told his friend gently.

Nephrite sighed. "I know. I just don't…I don't know. I don't want to deal with it right now. But unless I do, I can never really start on a good relationship with Jupiter."

"Jupiter? Do you like her or something?"

"Well, not like that…okay, maybe like that. For right now, however, I'll settle for the fact that she stops glaring at me or looking at me suspiciously wherever I happen to be."

"What about Mars? Seems to be the same with her."

"I know. I'm going to see if I can't do that with her as well. Jadeite, I'm really tired at being treated with suspicion from the Senshi wherever I go."

Jadeite exhaled noisily. "I understand that. It's really bad on the nerves and it bothers me, not to mention the fact that it makes me angry. I'm not the person she fought so why is she always watching me so distrustfully? Can't she, Jupiter, and Mercury give us a chance?"

"Yeah, I noticed that. Venus doesn't glare at us whenever we pass."

"Neither does Mercury," he pointed out.

"Yeah, but do we see her all that often? About once every five days. She avoids us like the plague."

"Like your doing to Naru."

Nephrite sighed. He wanted to hit Jadeite for being so blunt, but it wouldn't change the fact that he was right. They walked in companionable silence for a while.

The sun beat down on their heads, warming them. It was December and getting colder. Just the other night, he was almost certain it snowed a little. Footsteps behind them made them turn. Sailor Mercury, or rather Mizuno Ami, walked up to them purposefully. The Senshi's wish was strong to generally avoid the Shitennou, so it came as something of a surprise when she approached them. 

"Yes?" asked Nephrite politely.

"Could you find your friends and meet me in the infirmary?" she asked.

"Why?"

"I want to run a few tests." With that, she strode back into the palace. "And be there in five minutes," she called back.

Nephrite and Jadeite looked at each other and sighed. It wouldn't do much good to argue, so they tracked down their friends.

They found Kunzite first, talking with Endymion. When they explained what Mercury wanted them for, Endymion gave them a pitying look. When asked what it was for, he said that they would find out soon enough. With a bit of apprehension settling in their gut, they went in search of Zoisite. 

When ten minutes of looking yielded no results, they began to give up on him. They were already late for meeting with Mercury as it was and they had heard that she prided punctuality. They were walking down a corridor of the palace when they actually ran into him. He was just tying his hair back in its usual green band when he caught sight of them.

He had no more than time to greet them when Kunzite grabbed his elbow and began dragging him with them without even breaking stride. Jadeite and Nephrite smiled at each other and shook their heads. Kunzite's ability to concentrate on the matter at hand to the point of excluding even talk amazed them sometimes and it also gave rise to many of their great jokes on Kunzite's behalf.

Mercury was right annoyed when they showed up ten minutes late. She wore not her fuku, but a pair of black slacks, light blue shirt, and a white overcoat that came down to her calves. One by one, she called them in alone until Zoisite was the last left. He came in, slightly nervous. He had been struck speechless at the beauty of her more than once and he had no idea what to say.

"Take off your shirt," she said, barely glancing at him.

He gave her a confused look, but did as asked, taking off his cloak and vest as well. He held is clothing in his hands until she motioned for him to put them on a chair behind him. 

When Ami turned around to look at Zoisite, she was immediately struck with how well formed his chest was. Blushing bright red at the thought, she asked him to lie on the examining table. Immediately her computer began to take readings, some of which were off the scale. His mental abilities paralleled to that of the greatest telekinetic power that she'd ever seen.

Just as she was about to speak, his voice lanced through the silence. It was low and thoughtful in tone. She listened but grew heartily embarrassed as he continued.

"Every waking minute of the day and night I am constantly bombarded by new memories and things that I had forgotten about. I even remember when I first met you back in the Silver Millennium. I hadn't remembered before, I guess, because it had been such a long time and I was disoriented. 

"When I first saw you, you had just come to Earth as part of the guard for Queen Serenity. You wore your fuku of course and were a Senshi and you walked so proud. You were so beautiful under our sun, but it was nothing compared to seeing you on the Moon. I had never had the opportunity to meet you on Earth, you see, but when we went to the Moon a month later, I finally got to see you again and introduce myself."

"You can get off the table now," she whispered, blushing to the roots of her hair.

"I also remember thoughts and things about Kunzite, Nephrite, Jadeite, and Endymion." Ami felt her blush fade and she was heartily grateful that he changed the subject from herself. "We never thought of ourselves as serving a prince and us only guards. We always thought of ourselves as a family, friends forever, especially Kunzite and Endymion. There was no rank between us when we weren't in public."

Zoisite slid from the table and stared off into space. "I sometimes feel as if I don't belong here, in this time. But whenever I think that all I have to do is look at Endymion and you and I know that wherever my friends are is where I'm supposed to be."

He locked eyes with Ami, who couldn't tear her gaze away from the intensity of his green ones. "Listen to me, Mercury—"

"You can call me Ami," she interrupted quietly.

He smiled and whispered, "Thank you."

She turned back to the computer screen and pressed a few buttons randomly for something to occupy her hands and mind with. "Why do you thank me? It's only my name after all."

He shook his head. "It means you have given me trust and that I cannot tell you what it means to me. But Ami, back in the Silver Millennium, we had never had the chance of a relationship because we never met all that often even though we both expressed our feelings for one another. Please tell me we can have that relationship now. It is one of the few things that has kept me going these past couple of days."

"What about Kunzite?" she asked abruptly.

"What about him?" replied Zoisite, bewildered. "What does he—? Oh, I see," he said dully. 

She looked at him, out of the corner of her eye. "You see what?"

"Do you love him?"

Ami whirled to look at him full in the face in shock of the question. "No, I don't, but I must know. What is your and Kunzite's relationship?"

"We're friends. I don't understand where—"

She sighed. "Sit down, Zoisite, and listen to me. By now you know most of the story about the Dark Kingdom. There were a few things, however, that were neglected to mention on purpose, one of those things being the relationship between yourself and Kunzite." Ami took a deep breath. "You and he were lovers then."

Zoisite sat abruptly down. He felt queasy down to the tips of his toes. "Ami, I don't know who it was you fought when you were younger, but I can guarantee you one thing and that is that I never have or will love Kunzite as anything more than a brother and a friend."

Ami turned away. She wasn't sure how she felt about Zoisite. Hermes had assured that he was no longer evil in his visits to her over the past week and she had taken his word for it, but that didn't explain what she felt. She knew she still felt anger at what he had done under the Dark Kingdom, but she also felt something else, something like what she had felt for Urawa. _Do I love him? Can it hurt to find out if I do?_

"Ami, please believe me," he pleaded. "My feelings for you are often the only thing that keeps me warm at night when I feel that I don't belong in this time."

"Every Sunday morning, all of the Senshi meet in the kitchen for breakfast. Just us as friends. I'm sure Endymion would like you to be there. Mako-chan usually cooks us breakfast," she said, stalling. "Sunday is like a rest day for everyone; a routine and right now, everyone needs to feel the comfort of a routine. Trust me; it's really interesting to be there on Sunday. We're just people then, not Senshi or Royalty."

"Ami—"

She looked into his pleading face and smiled. "We can try, Zoisite. I'm not saying a relationship will work, but we can always try."

The smile he awarded her with made her blush. Zoisite stood up and wrapped his arms around her and she looked up into his sea green eyes. He pressed his lips gently to hers and automatically her hands touched his chest. His skin was as smooth as silk under her fingertips and very well muscled.

Her eyes closed and she knew this was right. She had only spent a year with Urawa and even then in that year, it had always been an off and on thing since they had never really seen each other all that often. But she would try to make this relationship work as best she could because she really did love Zoisite. But she didn't know if she could put the anger and sadness from what he had done before away. _Yet it wasn't really him doing that. He's proven that. But either way, can I do it?_

The banging of a door opening pulled them abruptly away from each other. Both looked into the face of a very shocked Jadeite. Half a second later, the door slammed shut again and Ami buried her burning face in Zoisite's chest.

She heard a chuckle and looked up. Zoisite had a smile on his face and was secretly amused by something. She didn't ask what had amused him. 

"Come on, get dressed," she told him, her face still bright red. 

He took her face in his hands. "Ami, I love you."

Ami looked into his eyes. "I love you too."

Jadeite leaned against the door, his eyes wide. That was not something one just walked in on! Zoisite wearing nothing but a pair of trousers clutching a beautiful woman in his arms and kissing passionately! And it being Mercury no less!

Mars jogged up to the door. "What are you doing here?" she asked suspiciously.

"I might ask the same of you."

"I've come for Mercury. She's late for a meeting with Serenity and the rest of the Inners and she's never late. Move."

"No. You don't want to go in there," he told her. 

"Oh, and why not?"

"Because…because…Can't you just trust me on this one?"

"Of course not. What have you done that has merited my trust? Besides, this is business of the Queen's and Senshi. She needs to be there. Now move!"

Jadeite tried to stop her from opening the door, but she shoved her elbow into his stomach, effectively ending the struggling and shoving the air out of his lungs. His back hit the right wall of the corridor and she opened the door with an annoyed look at him.

"Ami-chan—"

Her voice immediately cut off as she stared. Jadeite had a glimpse of Zoisite with his shirt half-on before taking Mars by the shoulders and yanking her back from the doorway. His head appeared momentarily as he promptly shut the door again a moment later. 

One look at each other and they went running down the hall. That was just not something they wanted to know about. Gasping for breath after running full out down three corridors. 

"Now, was she helping him put the shirt _on_ or taking it _off_?" questioned Mars.

"Far as I can tell, putting it on since I caught them with it off already."

"Oh, okay."

Locking eyes, they burst out laughing. 

"I would never have thought of that of Mercury," he commented.

Mars abruptly lost her smile and good attitude. "Why not?" she demanded.

He gave her a startled look. "Well, she doesn't strike me as the type—"

"What type? The type that doesn't get a chance to be like every woman?!"

"I didn't say that!" he said angrily.

She matched his anger. "You didn't need to! Look, Ami-chan is a woman like everyone else and if she falls in love then I'm happy for her and if you say a word about that to anyone, I'll fry you into a crisp."

"I didn't say anything like that!" he said again. "I didn't insult her at all! You're making a big deal over what I didn't say and would never say! Keep in mind that the man she was kissing happens to be one of my best friends, just as you are with Mercury! You have no right to yell at me for something I didn't say! I would never have said anything like that about her!"

"Then what did you mean when you said you would never would have thought that of her?"

"I simply meant that I would have thought that the kiss would have been done under moonlight!"

"Oh, so now you're saying that the only thing in her head is emptiness and girlish wishes?!"

"I DIDN'T SAY THAT!" Jadeite bellowed. "Why are you always trying to find hidden meanings in everything I say?! Scratch that, I don't want to know. No wonder you don't have many friends. You alienate just about everyone!"

"Oh, and I suppose trying to kill people by stealing their energy dry is good friendship making material?" she retorted. 

They glared at each other before stalking down separate corridors.

End Chapter 10


	11. Chapter 11: Emotional Storm

Author's Notes:

If you need to email me, contact me here: Guardian4@atlantic.net. Please put fanfiction in the subject line so I know what it's pertaining to. I don't own Sailor Moon. It is the property of Naoko Tacheuchi. 

**Crystal Hearts**

When The War Ends 

_Chapter 11: Emotional Storm_

When Makoto heard that Ami was dating Zoisite, her temper exploded after all the tension she had been feeling. 

"What do you think you're doing with him?!" she yelled. "Don't you remember what he did?! He destroyed our families and tried to kill us! Damn near succeeded as well! And you're DATING him?"

For once, Ami did not seem meek. She glared at the tall woman and said angrily, "This is my choice. I love Zoisite and believe Setsuna. If she said that they aren't evil, then they aren't! Even the gods say so! My father says so! Can't you accept that? Can't you get over the past? For crying out loud, you never even met Nephrite, but you act as though you personally fought him at fourteen! Or are just trying to deny your feelings for him by yelling at me because I've acknowledged them before you? Is it so hard for you to believe I'm in love?"

Makoto was struck speechless. She slowly sat down on her bed and stared at the blue haired Senshi. "Ami-chan, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean that. This is your choice and I will support it, but if he ever hurts you, do I have your permission to beat the living crap out of him?"

Ami gave her friend a small smile. "Yes, but that won't happen."

"How do you know?"

"Ask Minako-chan. She'll tell you why."

So that was what Makoto was doing in two in the morning. Wading through knee-high snow to the gardens where Minako spent most of her time nowadays. What she was doing out there in two in the morning, Makoto had no idea. 

"What _I'm_ doing out here in two in the morning, I don't know," she muttered to herself.

She spotted Minako sitting on bench that she had obviously cleared of snow. She had brought her feet up on it and was staring at the sky. Makoto looked up too. Since the war had ended, the sky was no longer gray. It was pure midnight black as usual at night and the moon now shown down pure white light again.

"Minako-chan?" she called.

Minako started and stared at her friend. "Mako-chan, what are you doing out here?"

"I could ask you the same thing, but I'm not going to because you won't answer. You never do." Makoto slogged through the snow to the bench and sat down with a huff. "What I came out here to ask you about is Ami."

Minako smiled a knowing smile. "You came to ask me why she's so sure that Zoisite will never hurt her." Makoto nodded. Minako looked back up at the sky. "It's simple, really. They're soulmates, like Serenity and Endymion." She frowned and turned back to Makoto. "I know why you asked, but I don't see why this couldn't have waited until morning."

Makoto stared at her friend compassionately. "I guess Ami isn't the only reason I came down. I just wanted to tell you that we've all noticed that you've been bothered about something lately. We don't want to pressure you into telling us, but we wanted to let you know that we'll be here for you when you ever want to talk."

She gave her a smile and with a sigh for the coming job of simply _walking_, headed for the palace. 

Minako stared back up at the sky. She could barely even look at Kunzite without remembering the battle she'd had with him when she went to get the crystal. She had forced her herself to kill her soulmate. If she could do that, did that mean she could force herself to do anything? Did that mean she could force her feelings for him even if she didn't have any? She was rather attracted to Jadeite, actually. 

She looked down at the snow. That was true, but she also had strong feelings for Kunzite and she knew why. He was her soulmate, but that didn't mean he loved her. _He probably thinks I hate him since I can barely stand to look at him for fear I'll drown in his eyes and smile._

Tears streaked Minako's cheeks and froze into small icicles on her skin. 

Rei walked down the corridors of the palace, glad that the heater was working. She wore her temple robes, something she hadn't worn for a long while, and though they were comfortable, they didn't do much to warm her. She wanted to be as warm as she could get before leaving. 

A hand touched her shoulder as she was stretching; Saturday's were wonderful. She turned and stared into a beautiful pair of pale blue eyes. "Hi," she said, perplexed. Usually he never approached her.

Kunzite sighed. "Hello. I was wondering if you were willing to walk with me. I would like to talk."

"Okay. About what?" Being in her shrine robes kept her calm and in her priestess mode so she didn't feel the usual emotions she felt in the Kings' presence. This, she reflected, was a good thing. It gave her perspective, a way to look at the Kings without the past clouding her better judgment. 

"Well, I feel you, Jupiter, and Venus have misjudged us. Quite badly, I'm afraid."

"Venus?" She supposed he could be right. Despite her cheerful appearance, Minako could hold a secret better than anyone other than Endymion, who was notorious for keeping secrets. If it hadn't been killing them both inside and if Usagi hadn't figured it out, he would have kept the dream of Usagi being hurt to himself until the day he died.

"Yes. May I permit a request?"

"I suppose so. What is it?"

"May the Shitennou call the Senshi by their given birth names in this time? Ami has already given us that opportunity, but neither Venus, Jupiter, nor yourself has awarded that concession."

Rei looked up at the tall King. He seemed oddly stiff. From the observations she'd had of him, she knew he didn't normally talk so formal. "I guess so. Though I don't know about Jupiter, I doubt that Venus will mind. She seems to like you all."

Kunzite gave her a surprised look. _Could have fooled me. She can't even look at me._ "Thank you, Lady Rei."

"Don't call me lady. Just Rei. And I think I have misjudged you, as you have said. I'm sorry."

He smiled winningly and she felt her heart skip a beat. He was incredibly handsome when he smiled and even when he didn't. She couldn't hold back the thought that she wondered what it would be like to kiss him and hold him in her arms.  

"Where are you going, then, Rei?" he asked curiously.

"I'm headed for the Shinto Shrine on the other side of town. I grew up there and I wish to see if it still stands. I do have a shrine in the palace since I live here now and could not have done without it, but I still need to know. I lived there most of my life, you know," she whispered. 

"In this weather? The snow must be thigh high by now and in those clothes you'll have a hard time walking. I'll go with you in case you need help through the snow."

Rei smiled up at him. "Thanks, I'd appreciate it and some company." 

They left the palace front doors and out into the world graced white.

Minako seethed with anger. How dare Rei smile at Kunzite like that! She had seen that look on the priestess's face when she had seen someone she liked. She was going to move in on Kunzite! Her Kunzite! The _conniving_, _manipulative_…

She gave a low scream of heartache and slumped down on her knees in the side corridor that she had watched the two from. Rei wasn't anything and Kunzite wasn't really hers. It was only fair that he look somewhere else for love since she couldn't provide it for him after what she had done. 

Tears streaked her cheeks and she clutched her stomach as she cried, bearing her pain in her now usual silence.

Makoto forced her way through the snow. She had just finished checking her garden only to find all her flowers and such dead. Typically, Endymion's roses still survived.

"Mako-chan!"

She turned and spotted Rei. She waved and walked slowly to her friend, not only because of the snow but also because Kunzite stood at her elbow. "What are you doing out here?"

"Oh, I'm heading for the temple and Kunzite said he wanted to accompany me."

Makoto gave Rei a long, blank look. She had certainly changed her tune about the Shitennou in a quick heartbeat. Was she the only one who still remembered what they had done? Or was she the only one who couldn't let go of the past? She pushed the uncomfortable thought away. 

"Are you taking an active interest in your relationship then?" she asked; an eyebrow rose.

Rei blushed. "Well—"

"I certainly wouldn't mind learning more about the raven-haired beauty," replied Kunzite. "Especially if it meant I could see more of her." He looked down at Rei. "Would you care to talk later on today? I have a few things I must do after we return from the shrine, but I am free this evening."

Rei, more than bright red, could only nod. A date with Kunzite! Despite her waning anger at the Shitennou, she would enjoy spending an evening with him. 

Makoto forced a smile and watched the two leave down the street. She happened to glance behind her at the palace door and just managed to see a wisp of bright blonde hair and a second of cornflower blue eyes before they disappeared back inside. 

A frown played on her lips. What was Minako doing, spying on the two? She knew from past experience that their Senshi leader trusted Rei to be able to take care of herself, so why had she been watching them? Did she still not trust the Shitennou? It seemed she had a while ago. Somehow she had a hard time believing that Minako hated the Kings.

Makoto entered the palace again, deep in thought. There was something seriously wrong with Minako these days. Brooding was not like her at all. She didn't go about telling people her thoughts for sympathy, but she never kept it bottled up inside either. One would have thought she would have talked to them, at the very least Serenity, about whatever was bothering her. 

Her mind wandering, Makoto's feet decided to take control and they wove the familiar path to the gym that had been installed for the Senshi's use, specifically Endymion, Makoto, and Haruka who were about the sole people who used it. 

The door was already open when she got there and that brought her wandering attention back. Haruka was still out with the other Outer Senshi and they weren't expected back for two weeks, which would have them at the palace for only three days before Christmas hit. Perhaps Endymion then?

Walking in, she spotted Nephrite already there and working hard. She blinked in surprise. He hadn't seen her because his back was to her. And what a back it was! His muscles worked and outlined perfectly as he lifted weights; very well-formed muscles, they were too. His shirt was off and he wore only a pair of dark green sweatpants that she recognized as being Endymion's. His hair had evidently been pulled back in a ponytail once, but she spotted the rubber band on the ground behind him. 

Makoto stood there, uncertain. His attention was completely on the weights and that gave her time to think and recover her composure. The anger that she always felt and was accustomed to was no longer there. Was it because she realized that she was the only one that still clung to past deeds and couldn't see past them that she no longer felt the sharp bitterness and rage?

She straightened her shoulders and walked in front of him. The room was bright and filled with sunlight, sometimes making strips on the floor from the many windows set in the light blue crystal walls. It was also relatively warm inside. She sat on a bench for weight lifting with both hands and waited for him to notice her, since she saw that his eyes were closed. He was weightlifting with two small weights in each hand.

His body dripping with sweat, Nephrite dropped the hand weights. It was silent in the room until a voice nearly stopped his heart. "You're pretty good to lift that much. Only Endymion's been able to do that, though Haruka and I are working on that problem."

Nephrite's head snapped up in surprise and he stared at Makoto. She didn't seem particularly angry with him today and no suspicion haunted her eyes. In fact, there seemed to be some amusement dancing around in her quirked smile. 

He didn't know quite what to make of this rather sudden change of attitude. "You come here often?"

Makoto looked around the long room and nodded. "Yeah, I do. Its how I keep my girlish figure, you know," she quipped. 

He laughed. "Your figure is anything but girlish."

Her head snapped to him. "What does that mean?"

Nephrite stared deeply into her eyes. "What do you think it means?"

There was silence for a moment and then Makoto felt the blush creeping onto her face. He was definitely flirting with her and she couldn't help but like it. No one had ever told her that her figure was full and mature like that; as if it was desirable to him. 

Nephrite brushed his hair back from his face and grabbed a towel and water bottle from a crate next to him. He took a long drink and wiped the sweat off his brow. 

Makoto lay down and grabbed the weight above her, intending to do a few bench presses to attribute her glowing cheeks to excursion rather than pleasure at the compliment. 

One minute she was staring at the ceiling and the next Nephrite's face. She blinked. 

"You shouldn't do that without a spotter," he told her. 

"I usually have one," she admitted sheepishly. "But the usuals aren't here right now."

"Who are the usuals?"

"Haruka or Endymion."

"Well, I'm here. Do you mind?"

She shook her head and he raised an eyebrow in surprise, but didn't say anything, simply watched over her in case she needed help with the weights.

When the weight was in her hands, Makoto almost grunted. She had not checked to see how many pounds were on the bar. It far exceeded what she usually did, but she wouldn't stop now with him watching her. 

Makoto managed only five until she was sweating worse than he had been. She could have done this relatively easier in Senshi form, but what did that accomplish? 

Suddenly the sweat and moisture on her hands made her lose her grip slightly and the bar wobbled threateningly. Nephrite's hand snaked down and grabbed it before it could get out of control. He allowed her to do five more, but said it was enough after that.

She was about to protest that she could do more, but when her arms started shaking so badly that she could barely lift them even an inch, she gave up on her own accord. 

"Let's shower off," he said neutrally.

Makoto looked somewhat embarrassed for a moment. They only had one shower room. Though Endymion used the weight room, it was usually just herself and Haruka. Since they were both girls, it didn't bother them, but she knew she wouldn't go in that room, undress, and shower with him doing the same and staring at her body.

When asked what was wrong and she explained, Nephrite simply said, "I'll wait until you're done then."

Makoto took a quick shower so Nephrite could have one. She was sure he was waiting impatiently. However, when she left the showers, she found him simply staring down at the grounds, looking for the entire world as if he could wait for millennia like that. 

She approached him, towel draped across the back of her neck, and stood by his side, looking down as well to see what he was watching. She noticed it was Endymion and Serenity dancing through the snow. Serenity was laughing happily and Endymion was twirling her around in his arms, not seeming to have a single problem walking or spinning in the snow, something the green Senshi envied. 

For a moment, Makoto saw not the king and queen of Crystal Tokyo, but her friends Usagi and Mamoru on their wedding day over a century ago. She sighed and leaned her back against the window as she stared down at the two people, remembering that happy day.

The reception hall was packed with friends and family, but the bride and groom had eyes only for themselves. In a fit of exhilaration, Mamoru lifted his bride into his arms and twirled her all around the room. Usagi laughed joyously and threw her arms wide, completely sure that Mamoru would never let her fall. The guests gave them a large circle to spin around in. 

_Haruka and Michiru stopped dancing to watch and Setsuna, who had designed Usagi's wedding dress, and Hotaru approached them, watching them as well. The smallest of smiles formed on the Outers' faces._

_The Inners were less restrained. Makoto threw her arm up into the air and gave a whoop of happiness. Ami clapped her hands together joyfully and small tears of delight glistened in her eyes. Rei took a large bouquet of red roses in her arms and threw them into the air around the twirling couple. They fell all around them and Usagi caught one in her hand. She gave a Rei a wide and ecstatic smile. Rei smiled back, a single tear sparkling at the corner of one eye. Minako got on the stage and sang a song she had made specifically for the wedding with Rei's help. Her beautiful voice just added to the wonderful emotions in the room. All the Senshi at one point had had tears in their eyes. By request, Luna and Artemis were there as well, watching. It was the happiest moment of their entire lives._

_No one else at the wedding or reception understood the depth of the emotions that the eight women were feeling (not to mention the two cats, though no one thought of them as anything more than regular felines). This was a moment that the Senshi, Luna, and Artemis had waited for over a thousand years to happen. After all the tests of their love and enemies to get in the way, not to mention the coming of Chibiusa (who had returned to the future to stay there permanently three months ago), it was about time they were married. _

_Though none of the Senshi, Luna, Artemis, Mamoru, or Usagi looked near the door, they knew the ghost of Queen Serenity stood there. No one, including them, could see her, but they knew she was there just the same. _

_Haruka, followed by the other Outers, made their way to Rei, Makoto, and Ami. She beckoned Minako to them, who had just finished her song and pressed a CD of music that she had recorded of her singing for the wedding. She had just felt it right to sing that song in person._

_The eight women then grabbed armfuls of flowers and tossed them in the air from every different side of the circle that the guests had made around the bride and groom. Haruka held yellow roses, Rei held red ones, Michiru held white ones, Makoto held pink ones, Ami held blue ones, Setsuna held dark burgundy colored ones, Hotaru held sunset colored ones, and Minako held orange ones with white in the center. _

_As one, they threw the flowers in the air and they fell down in a multicolored rain shower. Usagi whispered so low that only Mamoru, the Senshi, Luna, Artemis, and Queen Serenity heard her, "This is the happiest day of my life."_

_Tears grew in their eyes. It was the happiest day for eleven other people in the room as well._

"They look so happy together," Nephrite commented softly, never taking his eyes off the couple.

Makoto, who was still watching them as well, silently agreed with him. 

"It is just too bad that I missed the wedding. I wish I could have been there."

"You were, in Endymion's heart."

"I wonder if I am destined for a love such as that or if that kind of soulmate love is simply created for them alone," he whispered.

Makoto looked up at him, her hair dripping water into her face. She had let her hair down on the shower, but had put it up as soon as she had left. The weight was something she was unaccustomed to, since she didn't have it down very often. Only when she slept and then she wasn't in any position to notice the weight.

"I think you are. Soulmates and true love isn't made simply for Serenity and Endymion."

"How do you know that?" asked Nephrite, finally looking at her.

She stared into his eyes and the question was lost to both of them. His head bent down near her until their lips were only inches apart. A kiss was imminent until the sounds of Serenity laughing drew their attention back to the royal couple. 

Nephrite and Makoto looked at each other and pulled apart. Suddenly there was an awkward silence between them. 

"I think I'll take that shower now," Nephrite muttered, running a hand through his hair. 

Makoto nodded and he left. Just before he entered the room, she called to him. He turned around to look at her. 

"Nephrite," she said quietly, finally looking at him after a moment of more silence. "You have a destined soulmate. She is out there somewhere."

"How do you know that?" he repeated, almost desperate for the answer. 

"Because I asked Minako the same thing once a long time ago." 

They stared at one another over from across the room until Nephrite slowly nodded. _I wonder if that soulmate is her?_ he wondered, thinking about the almost kiss that he was now almost desperate to have. He turned into shower room and Makoto watched Serenity and Endymion again.

End Chapter 11


	12. Chapter 12: Forever Bonded

Author's Notes:

If you need to email me, contact me here: Guardian4@atlantic.net. Please put fanfiction in the subject line so I know what it's pertaining to. I don't own Sailor Moon. It is the property of Naoko Tacheuchi. 

**Crystal Hearts**

When The War Ends 

_Chapter 12: Forever Bonded_

Flower petals floated down to the ground in a gentle rainfall. Makoto smiled and twirled. In the distance she saw a man with dark brown hair reaching the middle of his back and a pale silver beard that went down to the middle of his throat. A long white robe came down to his ankles, covering dark green pants and earthen colored boots. He smiled at her in a fatherly fashion. Behind him, barely visible, the spires of a beautiful palace decorated with emeralds and jade rose toward the sky. 

_"Mako-chan?"_

_She turned to the voice. A young man stood in shadow behind her. She smiled at him and welcomed him into her arms._

_"My star heart," he whispered and walked to her. Slowly the light fell on him, revealing long and dark brown hair. Brown eyes filled with love at the sight of her. _

_"Nephrite," Makoto whispered lovingly._

The real Makoto bolted upright in bed abruptly, breathing as if she'd been running through the heavy snow. Her embracing Nephrite like a lover? No way! 

She got out of bed and stumbled into her nightstand. Two pairs of earrings, including her rose ones, a bracelet, her hair band, and a CD fell to the floor. She picked up the CD, intending to grab the hair band. She walked groggily to the kitchen, not realizing what was in her hand.

She clicked the light on and stood blinking at the sudden illumination. The kitchen was large and white with a light brown wooden island table in the center. All along the edges of the walls were counters. The dishes were clean and put away. Indeed, it looked like it was never used, but Makoto knew better. She was in here every Sunday cooking breakfast for the Senshi. She wasn't the official chef, since being a Senshi didn't allow for that and guard duty of the royal family, but she had comprised for cooking for her friends on Sunday. 

Makoto tried to put her hair up and stared stupidly at the CD case in her hand. Sighing, put the CD in the small, black stereo system that was on the counter, tucked in a corner so as not to be in the way. It was an addition to the kitchen by the official chef. 

Normally Makoto didn't approve of it, but she made use of it now. She turned down the volume so it didn't wake anyone up and pushed the play button, skipping to track three, and her favorite song. The first bars of music came through as she stared out the window and into the dark world. It had begun to snow gently. Her face reflected off the glass from the lights behind her. The song was surprisingly accurate for her emotional state.

_I saw you at __midnight__, in a dream that I had.  
From nowhere, you stood there, and you seemed so sad.  
And a vicious decision is drivin' me mad.  
Should I follow my head, or follow my heart?_  
  


            Her dream flashed before her mind. How could she embrace him like that? Sure, she didn't hold that anger anymore, but that didn't mean she was in love with him. And where had that place been?

_You were different, indifferent, unbelievably cool.  
I approached you, to show you, that I'm nobody's fool.  
And an error, caused terror, as I sensed your dare.  
Should I follow my head, or follow my heart?_  
  


Makoto was brought back to the fight with him when she had gone to get the stone. He had brought back angry memories and she had fought him not only to get the stone, but to show him she had was better now than in the Silver Millennium.  Hadn't she?

_Should I follow my head, or follow my heart?  
You've got the lead, baby I've got a start.  
Should I follow my head?  
Should I follow my heart?  
Should I follow my head, or my heart?  
Follow my heart._

            The song dissolved into a guitar solo, but Makoto took not a whole lot of notice. Her vision was fixed inside herself, even though she was staring at the night outside the palace. That almost kiss in the gym earlier that day continued to bother her. If she didn't really love him then his eyes wouldn't have caught her, right? She just didn't know what to believe about herself.

_Ooh, I saw you at __midnight__, in a dream that I had.  
From nowhere, you stood there, and you looked so sad.  
And a vicious decision is drivin' me mad.  
Should I follow my head, or follow my heart?  
  
_

_Should I follow my head, or follow my heart?  
You've got the lead, baby I've got a start.  
Should I follow my head?  
Should I follow my heart?  
Should I follow my head, or my heart?  
Follow my heart._

_Should I follow my head, or should I follow my heart?_

_Ooh, should I follow my head?_

_Or, follow my heart?_

_Should I follow my heart?_

            Makoto leaned her head against the glass of the window. Had Nephrite actually looked sad when she had killed him? She was sure of it. But why? Another guitar solo, shorter this time. Her head was telling he was no good for her, but her heart said she loved him. But she didn't understand how that could happen.

_Should I follow my head, or follow my heart?  
You've got the lead, baby I've got a start.  
Should I follow my head?  
Should I follow my heart?  
Should I follow my head, or my heart?  
Follow my heart._

_Should I follow my head, or follow my heart?  
You've got the lead, baby I've got a start.  
Should I follow my head?  
Should I follow my heart?  
Should I follow my head, or my heart?  
  
_

_Follow my heart._

The song ended and Makoto reflected that it made it sound so easy. Could she follow her heart just like that? What if he didn't feel the same about her? It wasn't that easy! She almost laughed. How ironic the song was. It outlined her dilemma perfectly and made the solution sound so easy to do.

A throat cleared behind her and Makoto whirled around. "Nephrite," she exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

Nephrite, whose hair braided, rather loose and messily, smiled. "I stayed up to watch the stars, but when it started to snow, I gave up seeing anything more. I was about to go to bed, but heard someone moving around and when I passed here, the light was on. Besides, I was kind of hungry."

"I've never seen you with your hair in any kind of restraint," she commented.

His hand went up to his hair and he looked surprised, as if he hadn't noticed it until then. "I usually braid it before I go to bed so it isn't so badly knotted when I get up and brush it. I've never seen you with your hair down," he retorted.

She shrugged. "It's kind of hard to sleep with a hair band like mine in my hair. Sit down and I'll get you something light to eat."

"You like to cook?" Nephrite asked, doing as told and sitting down at the end chair of the island table. 

"Yeah, a lot. I would love it to be my full time job, official chef, but it's not to be. I have to guard the royal family as per my job description as Senshi and I don't mind really. I still get to cook breakfast on Sunday's for all my friends and that's all I really want to do at the moment. Imagine trying to cook for an entire palace every day! You might want to come as well. You'd like my cooking," she said with certainty. "I haven't met anyone who hasn't yet."

"Jupiter—"

"Call me Makoto."

He simply nodded, obviously deciding not to mention what he had been going to say.

A few minutes of silence and then Makoto plopped down a plate in front of Nephrite. He stared at it in surprise. "This is a light meal?" he asked in incredulity.

Makoto looked at the plate. It held two small sandwiches, both having been cut into two triangles, a few carrots, some broccoli, and a few bits of cold ham. 

"Yeah. The tea will be done in a minute," she added. 

Nephrite shook his head when her back was turned. This was like a dinner meal. "If this is a light snack, what's a large meal?" he asked amusedly.

"If you come to the kitchen on Sunday morning, you'll find out," was the cryptic reply.

Nephrite ate in silence and Makoto watched the tea boil without saying anything. Pouring the tea in two mugs, she set one in front of Nephrite and sat down at the table with him. 

"What got you up?" he asked.

Makoto looked away. "A strange dream that left me wondering."

"Wondering what?"

She didn't reply and he let it lie with a sad sigh. 

The CD started a new song at that moment and she didn't hear his sigh. The tea was finished in a few moments, as well as Nephrite's plate of food. She put the dish in the sink and then dried it, setting it on the dish rack. She reached for Nephrite's empty cup when his hand gripped her wrist. He looked deeply into her eyes.

"Makoto, you must understand me. I am not the person you thought I am, nor am I trying to force you into a relationship. I just want to let you know how I feel. I have been thinking a lot about what happened in the gym and have come to this conclusion. I love you and I can't live without you. You have been with me for some time, but until today, you've been very distant and angry on account of what went on in the past of which I have no knowledge. Please believe me. I must know: do you love me?"

Makoto looked away and the song from the CD filled the silence. She listened to the words for a moment. 

Heard it from a friend who,  
Heard it from a friend who  
Heard it from another you been messin' around  
They say you got a boy friend  
You're out late every weekend  
They're talkin' about you and it's bringin' me down   
  
But I know the neighborhood  
And talk is cheap when the story is good  
And the tales grow taller on down the line  
But I'm telling you, babe  
That I don't think it's true, babe  
And even if it is, keep this in mind   
  
You take it on the run baby  
If that's the way you want it baby  
Then I don't want you around  
I don't believe it,  
Not for a minute  
You're under the gun so you take it on the run   
  


"Makoto, please answer my question."

She looked back at him and he stood up. His free hand touched her shoulder and slowly caressed her entire arm until that hand as well gently gripped her other wrist. Her body shivered at his touch, even through the green cotton pajamas she wore.

She looked up into his eyes and couldn't look away. She nodded, trembling. He smiled and tilted her chin up a little higher. It took but a moment and his lips were on hers. 

Lightning lashed through her body, but not the kind of lightning she was used to. The kind that sent shivers down her spine. Her arms went around his neck and clutched him to her tightly. The kiss turned passionate and neither could stop. 

The sound of the next song on the CD startled them. The beginning was from the movie 'The Little Rascals'. They looked at each other and laughed. Nephrite twirled her around and they began to dance to the fast beat of the song.

She doesn't like the tough guys.  
They think that they can do anything they please.  
But they're gonna get a surprise,  
When she brings them to their knees.  
  
Cause she doesn't like the rough guys.  
They act like they can have any girl they choose.  
They've got tricks, but my baby got wise,  
So in case you haven't heard the news,  
  
She doesn't like the tough guys.  
She doesn't like the rough guys.  
So find some one you own size,  
'Cause she's not afraid of you.  
  


"This song reminds me of you," he whispered.

Makoto shook her head. "No, this is definitely for Rei."

When the song ended, Makoto turned off the stereo. Talking about nonsense things, the two left the kitchen, never seeing the blond figure dressed in a white night gown smile joyfully. 

They didn't really know where they were going until they ended up at Makoto's bedroom. Awkwardness fell between them again. She opened the door and asked shyly, "Would you like to come in?"

Nephrite hesitated, but agreed. Once inside, the awkwardness seemed to be gone as quickly as it had come. The light switch flooded the room with light and Nephrite wandered to a mantelpiece.  The thing that drew his attention was the picture. It must have been taken recently. A happily smiling Jupiter was in the arms of an older man, who looked ecstatic. A long white robe came down to his ankles, covering dark green pants and earthen colored boots. His eyes were a deep green color. 

Makoto walked up behind him. "That's Zeus, my father," she explained.

Nephrite turned to her. "Your father is Zeus, king of the gods?!"

"Yeah."

He stared at her and then burst out into laughter. "It would figure."

"What does that mean?"

The confused look on her face prompted him to explain. "How else can you have that kind of demanding presence to you? Not to mention your beautiful green eyes. Everything about screams that you are his daughter."

Makoto glowed with pleasure and took his arm. "All right, sit down. That messy braid of yours is beginning to bother me and ever since I saw it, I've been itching to brush it out and fix it up right."

Nephrite sat on the edge of her bed and Makoto crawled on her knees on top of her mattress so she was taller than him. She took out the hair band and set it on the night table next to the bed and used her brush, which had a lightning bolt in the center of the back (a gift from her father), and began to brush his hair.

The room was silent for a moment and she commented softly, "You're hair is like silk."

Nephrite's hand rose up and held still her hand that was brushing his hair. She blinked and looked at him. He stared into her eyes and they leaned toward each other, their lips meeting again. 

The brush fell from Makoto's hand as Nephrite's caressed her stomach under her shirt. He gently laid her on her bed and she wrapped her arms around his neck. His other hand trailed down her side and rested on her hip. 

She pulled him down on top of her and the kiss was slow and compelling this time. The snow fell gently from the sky and onto the ground. Neither noticed the magic that switched off the light switch. 

"You're very decent, you know that Zeus," commented Aphrodite. 

"I know I am. It was just to give them a little privacy."

They both turned away from Poseidon's mirror. Neptune's was made of the same glass, only less sophisticated at seeing anything his daughter wanted to see. Zeus was glad for his daughter and he refused to watch them any longer. One, it wasn't a peep show, and two, he really did like Nephrite. He smiled; Jupiter wouldn't have to worry about a shotgun. If he really hadn't liked the boy and if he hurt his daughter, he could always fry him on the spot with lightning. One of the little perks of being the king of the gods and an element of lightning at his command. 

End Chapter 12

BTW, the songs in this part were all from REO Speedwagon's "High Infidelity" They are, _In My Dreams, Take It On Run, _and _Tough Guys_.I don't own them, kay? 


	13. Chapter 13: Long Time of Nothing

Author's Notes:

If you need to email me, contact me here: Guardian4@atlantic.net. Please put fanfiction in the subject line so I know what it's pertaining to. I don't own Sailor Moon. It is the property of Naoko Tacheuchi. 

**Crystal Hearts**

When The War Ends 

_Chapter 13: Long Time of Nothing_

Zoisite tied his hair back with his usual green band and knocked on Nephrite's door. There was no answer. Annoyed, he called out, "Nephrite? Come out, it's time to get up."

Again there was silence so Zoisite opened the door. There was no one there. The bed looked like it might have been sat on at one point, but not slept in, a telescope was pointed outside his window and toward the sky, and there was a notepad on a small table next to it with a few scribblings written on the yellow page. 

Zoisite, alarmed, ran to Kunzite's bedroom and banged on the door. Kunzite opened the door at once, his eyes drooping, wearing white pajamas, and a sword in his hand. 

"Zoisite, what is the fuss about?"

"Nephrite's gone! It looks like he never slept last night."

Kunzite's sword fell with a clank on the ground and both hurried to Jadeite's room to see if he had any idea where Nephrite might be. 

Jadeite looked startled to see his two friends barging in through his door and barely made out the words 'Nephrite' and 'missing'. Jadeite jumped from his bed, grabbed a robe, and pelted from his room at top speed, just behind his fellow Shitennou. 

"We need to tell Endymion about this," he panted. "Where is he?"

"Every Sunday the Senshi, Endymion, and Serenity always have breakfast together in the kitchen," Zoisite answered. "So, I'll bet my life that that's where he is."

They burst into the kitchen, out of breath, and Endymion looked up in surprise. "What's wrong?" he asked, not overly alarmed.

"Nephrite is missing. Zoisite said it didn't look like he went to sleep last night," Kunzite told him grimly.

To their amazement, Endymion smiled and chuckled. "Sit down. As is usual with her, Sere went out last night for a midnight snack. She was about to enter the kitchen when the sounds of voices stopped her. She immediately recognized one as that of one of her most trusted friends and perfect cook, Makoto. The other took a bit longer to recognize, but eventually she puzzled out Nephrite's. She happened to get a glance before hastening away, but she did see them kissing in the kitchen and her last report was of them walking away, incidentally going in the direction of Makoto's bedroom. I don't think it was _his_ bedroom he was sleeping in last night."

Kunzite and Jadeite glared in annoyance at Zoisite, who looked thunderstruck and sheepish. The two Kings sat down in a huff at the table and turned back to Endymion.

"Where is Serenity now?" asked Jadeite. 

"She's going to wake the other Inners, Minako, Rei, and Ami, to let them know not to expect Makoto to be cooking this morning."

"I have a splendid substitute," Kunzite said as the objects of Endymion's explanation arrived. "Since Zoisite made us beat feet and got us upset for _no_ reason, he can cook this morning."

Zoisite paled. "Kunzite, you can't—"

"Oh, yes I can."

"What's going on?" questioned Ami, who wore a light blue nightgown with a dark blue robe over top of it. 

"Zoisite is going to be cooking this morning," Jadeite said, slightly maliciously.

"Oh."

"Why?" asked Minako, who wore an orange set of pajamas edged with yellow. 

"It's a long story," said Kunzite dryly. Minako fought off a blush as he looked at her and glanced away from him. 

Rei plopped down in a chair next to Kunzite. He smiled at her and she blushed. He gave her a small kiss and turned back Endymion. The Soldier of War's face turned as bright a red as her nightgown in pleasure. 

Minako glowered for a moment, a fact that Serenity did not miss, and sat down next to Ami. Serenity kissed Endymion in greeting, her white nightgown trailing on the floor.

Zoisite took a deep breath and stared with trepidation at the kitchen accoutrements in front of him. While muted conversation and happy laughter sounded behind him, he did fairly well on making pancakes. Unfortunately, as he was trying to put the third pancake on the plate, he lost control of the pan and it began to fall to the floor. 

"Zoisite!" roared Jadeite and Rei at the same time.

Ami dived, since she was closest to him, and caught the pancake. Breathing heavy, she stood up and put it on the plate. She smiled at him and he returned it happily. She blushed with pleasure and sat down again. 

"That was a close one," commented a voice from the doorway. 

They looked and saw Makoto, who had spoken. Nephrite stood just behind her. He wore a comfortable pair of black pants and a loose white shirt that was slightly rumpled.

"Why is Zoisite cooking?" asked Nephrite in confusion. 

No one said anything and after a moment, Makoto blushed. Minako stood and offered her a chair. She shook her head in amusement and replaced Zoisite at the stove, while listening to the circumstances. He relinquished it with a thankful smile. Nephrite claimed the empty seat and all went well for a few moments until...

"Where is Chibiusa?" asked Endymion in surprise. His daughter was almost a carbon copy of her mother when it came to food and Serenity would never miss a Sunday breakfast.

"Ahahah," Minako hedged, standing near the counter as Kunzite took his plate to the sink and offered his chair to her. 

"What is it, Minako?" Endymion questioned sharply.

To Kunzite's surprise, she grabbed arms and turned him sharply around to face the waiting eyes and hid behind him. He blinked and looked down at her. 

"Why are you hiding behind me?"

"You'll see," she muttered before speaking up. "She's down in the gardens."

"You saw her there?"

"Well, not exactly _saw_, but rather _sensed_ her down there with—" She cut herself off.

"With WHO, Minako?"

"Helios," she squeaked. 

It was apparent why Minako had wanted Kunzite as a shield. Endymion jumped to his feet, only to be restrained by Nephrite, Jadeite, and Zoisite. It took all of them to force him back in his seat.

"WHAT! She's too young to be out there with a guy by herself!"

"Endy," Serenity said pleadingly.  "Calm down, you remind me forcibly of Kenji-papa when we were dating at times like this."

He stopped struggling to get up and stared at his wife. To everyone's relief, he chuckled. "I guess I do at that."

Kunzite looked down at Minako in amusement, but she immediately looked away. He stifled a sad sigh. She must really hate him.

The breakfast group broke up and went their separate ways, Minako immediately heading for her bedroom. When she closed the door and looked around, she saw Aphrodite sitting calmly on the bed. Tears pooled in her eyes and she threw herself down at the woman's feet, burying her head in her mother's lap.

"I-I can't st-stand to be ar-ar-ou-nd him any-anymore! It-it's too pain-painful!" she sobbed.

Aphrodite stroked her head lovingly. "Why do you deny him? He thinks you hate him."

"I don't blame him for thinking that."

"Then why do you deny him? You love him, but you won't give him a chance."

Minako looked up at Aphrodite. "Mother, you don't understand! Look what I forced myself to do! I killed him getting the stone to Serenity! If I can force myself to kill my soulmate, what stops an enemy from using something against me to force me to do anything to anyone? Serenity shouldn't even trust me! If I can force myself to kill my true love, then there's no telling what else I can force myself to do! What if an enemy put leverage against me and I forced myself to kill her!"

Her mother laughed gently. "I know you and you would rather die than kill her or harm her. You couldn't force yourself to do that; you and I both know you better than that. Speaking of killing your true love, you killed but an ugly facet of him that was made by evil."

"But you were telling me not to kill him!"

Aphrodite looked away. "Well, I have a few reasons behind that. I told you that so when he came back you would be more receptive to the Shitennou and be able to save the Earth with the star circle. I did not mean what I said to rule your judgment entirely. I simply wanted to see how strong you were."

Minako pulled away and sat forlornly on the floor. "What do I do mother? It's too painful to be around him, especially with him being with Rei-chan and all."

Aphrodite knelt on her knees in front of her. "Venus, why don't you take a chance and tell him how you feel? You cannot go on like this; it is tearing you apart and your friends are more than worried about you."

"But if I tell him and he breaks up with Rei-chan, then she'll hate me. She really likes him."

"By now I would think you would trust in your friendship more than that. If Mars is anything like her father, if it would make you happy, she would give him up. Ares would do that for one of us, but only for one of his friends. Trust in the bond you have formed with her and the rest."

Minako nodded and Aphrodite raised a hand to wipe away the tears on her daughter's face. She smiled. "Now go. You are my daughter and you've faced many more dangerous foes and threats; this should be easy as the daughter of Love and a Senshi combined."

Minako stood up and left the room under her mother's encouraging smile. She knew where she was going, but she took a circuitous route to get to the King's room. It gave her time to compose herself. 

A "Come in" answered her tentative knock.

Kunzite's face flashed in surprise upon seeing her, but his usual mask of unimpaired calm descended swiftly. Minako gave him points for being quick.

"I was thinking of visiting one of my favorite coffee shops; would you like to accompany me?"

This time he couldn't conceal his surprise. "I would gladly."

"You might want to change into something very warm. It just started to snow lightly again. You can borrow something from Endymion's closet if you like. I'll go get ready."

Minako positively ran from the room at high speed. Now all she had to do was get ready herself. She opened her closet door and pulled things out a random until she caught herself. She shook her head and studied the clothes in front of her. She wanted to look good; like the daughter of a goddess of Love should.

She grabbed a pair of light blue jeans and a dark yellow sweater with bits of orange here and there in the design. She made sure her hair shined and her bow was in place. Last, she found a pair of white tennis shoes that she hadn't worn in years and pulled them on. It was amazing they still fit after all these years. She put on very little make-up and spritzed a little perfume on her neck. Grabbing a white purse, she left the room.

Kunzite was already waiting for her at the entrance to the palace. His eyes widened at her appearance. "You look beautiful," he told her, fighting the hard thumps his heart was doing.

Minako blushed. "You do as well." 

He wore a gray, cable-knit sweater, one she recognized that she had given Endymion on his 30th birthday. It looked better on Kunzite than it did on him. His hands were resting in the pockets of his warm black pants. A black pair of shoes completed his ensemble.

"Follow me," she told him and opened the door. Or tried to. Kunzite had to lend his shoulder to it as well since the snow had nearly trapped them in the palace. 

On the way, Minako saw many people she recognized from over the years. She waved to Umino who sat with his girlfriend outside a store on a bench. Umino had turned out to be very handsome after high school, getting contacts and brushing his hair down. 

Naru walked up to them and greeted them. When Minako introduced Kunzite she spared him but a glance. Turning back to the blonde, she asked, "Have you seen Nephrite? I was wondering when I could see him again? No one's come out of the palace lately."

Minako sighed and took Naru's arm. "Would you excuse us for a moment, Kunzite?" 

He nodded.

Her and Naru walked a little ways off from everyone. But when Minako looked into Naru's confused eyes, she couldn't tell her. This was up to Nephrite to deal with. Yet she couldn't say it was nothing since it was _her _that had dragged the woman over here in the first place. 

"I just wanted to tell you that we're nearly snowed in over there at the palace and that Serenity misses you," she said lamely. 

Naru's face cleared. "Oh, thanks for letting me know. I gotta run, see you!"

Minako rejoined Kunzite, who thankfully said nothing. It was very hard being someone who could sense love. Naru was completely in love with Nephrite, but Nephrite and Makoto were soulmates. How could one understand what that meant exactly if one never felt what it was like to be soulmates to someone?

Minako shivered with cold and Kunzite wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Are we close to the coffee shop you wanted to go to yet?"

She nodded and opened a shop door on the right side of the street. The room was dim inside, but warm and welcoming. It was a small restaurant that depended on its regulars to supply its business. 

The staff immediately recognized Minako and led her to her table. They gave Kunzite a few surprised looks since she usually came in alone, but didn't comment. She ordered her customary tea and her companion ordered a coffee for himself. 

They sat in silence for a while, enjoying the low jazz music in the background. Minako sighed and stared out the window onto the street. Many people waved to her, but she couldn't bring herself to wave back, being too engrossed with thoughts of sadness and nervousness. Was Aphrodite right when she said that Rei would understand? Rei, fiery, stubborn, Pyro, Rei understand?

Kunzite cleared his throat gently and she started. She had almost forgotten he was there. 

"No offense, Minako, but why did you ask me here? You usually avoid me. What have I done to make you so angry?"

She blushed. "You haven't done anything. Listen Kunzite, I have to tell you the reason why I haven't been around you all that much." Minako took a deep breath. "You have been told our quests for the stones, right?" He nodded. "You were also told that we each fought an evil Shitennou, right? Well, I met with my mother, Aphrodite, and she told me that I was going to kill my soulmate. I ignored her, even though I knew she was right, and did it anyway. When you came back, I became all confused. I love you, Kunzite, but you're dating Rei-chan and I wasn't sure that I could have a relationship with you after what I had done when getting the stone."

Minako kept her eyes firmly on a place that was anywhere but on Kunzite. There was silence for such a long time that she risked a glance at his face and couldn't look away. There was shock there, but also compassion, understanding, and love. 

"I love you as well, Minako, my Venus."

She smiled as he hoped she would. They leaned forward over the table and kissed softly. The snow stopped falling and the two headed back to the palace, arm in arm.

Rei, standing just behind them, smiled. So now she knew what had been wrong with Minako. Going to the original Shinto shrine had proved a good idea after all. Though she was sad to let Kunzite go, Minako's happiness meant more to her than any man could ever hope to.

Minako stared up at the palace in front of her and felt a surge of elation. After such a long time of nothing, now she had everything.

End Chapter 13


	14. Chapter 14: Words of No Difference

Author's Notes:

If you need to email me, contact me here: Guardian4@atlantic.net. Please put fanfiction in the subject line so I know what it's pertaining to. I don't own Sailor Moon. It is the property of Naoko Tacheuchi. 

**Crystal Hearts**

When The War Ends Chapter 14: Words Of No Difference 

When Rei entered the palace, she found an exultant Chibiusa running toward her. "Hurry up, hurry up," she cried. "Unless you hurry and come, the Outers won't arrive."

"Already?" she exclaimed. "I thought that they weren't due to be here at least until Wednesday!"

"Who cares?! Come on!"

Chibiusa grabbed her hand and dragged her to the teleportation room. Inside, the Inners waited patiently. Minako didn't meet her eyes and she approached the blonde slowly, as one would with a skittish horse.

"Minako-chan? If you're happy, then that's all that matters to me," she whispered.

Minako's eyes locked with hers and she smiled after a moment. "Thank you, Rei-chan." The blonde didn't question how Rei knew; she _was _psychic, after all.

The floor glowed and a moment later, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and Saturn's forms appeared. Chibiusa ran to Saturn joyfully and the two hugged each other happily.

The Inners sedately greeted their fellow comrades and the groups headed to the throne room to see the King and Queen.

"So, how are things with the Shitennou?" asked Uranus seriously.

Three of the four Inners blushed. 

"I see," she said, a smile lighting her features. "What about you, Rei-chan?"

Rei looked at her. "What about me?"

"Which King is left unoccupied?"

"What do—oh, Jadeite isn't with anyone."

"And you aren't either," the tall Soldier prompted.

Rei glared at her teasing. "I would sooner date the most poisonous snake in the world. Being with it would be safer than with Jadeite." She stalked off ahead of them.

"Did I say something wrong?" asked Uranus, confused.

"No," Jupiter said, sighing. "Her and Jadeite are on rocky terms at the moment. They're always fighting."

"How badly?" asked Pluto, concerned.

"You'll see," was Venus's reply.

"WHY DON'T YOU GET A LIFE?!"

"I HAVE ONE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!" yelled Rei hotly.

The other Soldiers, on the other side of the palace, winced and covered their ears. "I didn't know Rei-chan could yell that loudly," commented Neptune.

"Just wait," was Mercury's weary answer.

"YOU INSULT ME ONE MORE TIME, I'LL—"

"I DIDN'T INSULT YOU!" Jadeite screamed back as they were barely a foot apart. 

"YES YOU DID!" 

"ALL I SAID WAS THAT YOU WERE PRETTY TODAY!"

"IN A SARCASTIC TONE OF VOICE, IS ALL! DOES THAT MEAN THAT I'M NOT PRETTY EVERYDAY?!"

The Senshi sighed. 

"WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS SO ANTAGONISTIC?" Jadeite cried loudly, finally fed up.

"BECAUSE YOU DESTROYED MY HOME!"

"SHOULD I BOTHER TO MENTION THAT IT WASN'T ME THAT DID THAT?!"

"SHUT UP!" screeched a different voice. 

Rei and Jadeite started and turned in surprise to the doorway. Uranus looked beside herself with fury and Neptune was right behind her, with a Deep Submerge ready to use. 

"I'll have Neptune cool you off unless you both calm down!" she said hotly. "The Outers have only been here for three days! I don't know how the Inners do it, putting up with you, but the Outers have very limited patience. I want a peaceful Christmas, which is due any day now. Everyone here is tired of your bickering!"

Rei blinked, but said nothing. Jadeite cast an apprehensive look at Uranus' partner. Slowly Neptune dissolved her attack when it was obvious the argument would not continue. 

"Why don't you try to go a day without fighting?" she asked wearily. 

"We'll try," Rei promised, seeing how tired Neptune looked. 

When the two Outer Senshi left, Rei turned to Jadeite. There was silence in the room until Jadeite sighed. "Look, Rei, I'm really tired of fighting too. Can't we call it a truce?"

She nodded. "Truce it is."

"How about we cement that truce with dinner tonight?"

Rei's eyebrow rose, but she agreed readily enough.

"Did you hear?" asked Minako to Serenity in a hushed whisper.

Serenity leaned forward as well. "What?"

"Two days ago, Uranus and Neptune yelled at Rei and Jadeite about their arguments. That very same day, they went on a date. Just yesterday, they went on another one and they've got one planned for tonight as well!"

"You're kidding!" the Queen exclaimed. "They're dating now?"

"Not anymore," said a tired voice from the doorway. Endymion entered and sat down at the table in the kitchen. "They had an argument, a _quiet _one so not to be noticed by Uranus and Neptune, and they broke up."

A day later, Minako and Serenity were to be found in the kitchen again, gossiping once more. 

"They're back together."

"How long are they going to do the off and on thing?" asked Serenity.

Minako shrugged. "I heard Nephrite talked with Naru-chan yesterday."

"What happened?"

"Well, when he explained the distinction between himself and the Nephrite we fought, she said she didn't care who he was, but she loved him anyway. Then he told her that he loved Makoto and she started crying and told him that she'd waited for years for him and how could he do this to her, right?" Serenity nodded, a sad look on her face. "He comforted her as best he could and then I went up and explained to her about soulmates. As is natural for a subject such as this, she asked me who hers was."

"Who is it?"

"Well, I told her I didn't know because I don't. It's not like I can look at someone and then say, 'your soulmate is so-and-so.' It doesn't work like that."

"Oh," said Serenity, striving to look knowledgeable about the subject. Minako just rolled her eyes.

Rei slid to the floor with her back to the wall, tears streaking her face. She was tired of fighting with him, but it was as if she couldn't help herself. This was the third time they had broken up in the past week and a half and it was tearing her up inside. She did love him, but she just couldn't seem to stay with him.

He was just so handsome and perfect; any woman could want him. She felt a surge of anger when she remembered their argument.

_"I was not ogling other women!" he yelled. _

_"Well what do you call it then?" she retorted._

_"I call it a simple glance in the woman's direction!"_

_Rei grabbed her hair in frustration. "Don't you see it, Jadeite? Do you know how many women stare at you because you're so handsome? Haven't you seen how many women try to lure you away from me? I'm scared I'll lose you."_

_"Don't you trust me?" he asked simply._

_Rei could only stare at him. Trust in a man again? After seeing what becomes of trust if given to a man? She couldn't forget her father's neglect of his family._

_Shock and hurt claimed his face. With tears of anger and pain, he stalked away while she said nothing._

_I just let him go,_ she thought. _I did nothing to stop him leaving. Why?! _Why couldn't she have said that she wanted so badly to trust him and did, but couldn't bring herself to say or act upon that trust? Minako's words echoed in her head. She had told her this after their second breakup.

"You both love each other to the death like Serenity and Endymion, but what is that love worth without trust?"

She jumped to her feet and ran from her room. This may be the last time she might get the chance to see him. "Jadeite!" she called frantically. She didn't want to lose him, not like this.

He stopped and turned around, almost nearing the end of the corridor. His eyes were wary and hard. "What?"

She ran up to him and wrapped her arms around his chest. "I love you and I do trust you. Please, I can't stand another break up. They hurt like hell so badly that all I ever want to do is die!"

Jadeite's arms wrapped around her and he buried his face in her thick hair. "I'm so sorry. You nearly killed me this time. But words make no difference with love. It only cares about feelings."

Rei looked up at him and managed to smile before a kiss descended on her lips. It surpassed all their previous kisses, with passion, fire, and trust this time. 

End Chapter 14


	15. Epilogue: The Finishing of a Dream

Author's Notes:

If you need to email me, contact me here: Guardian4@atlantic.net. Please put fanfiction in the subject line so I know what it's pertaining to. I use a little manga attacks in here, but not much so bear with me. I don't own Sailor Moon. It is the property of Naoko Tacheuchi. 

**Crystal Hearts**

When The War Ends Epilogue: The Finishing of a Dream 

Rei felt Jadeite's arms encircle her waist and she leaned into his embrace. The Christmas tree looked absolutely beautiful, as well as all the people around it. The Senshi were just civilians today, happy to be with each other. And all were in dresses, even Haruka. Rei suspected Michiru had bullied her into it. 

Endymion and Serenity sat on the floor with their arms wrapped around each other, watching with fond happiness Chibiusa and Helios, who had been invited to join their Christmas. It was his first Christmas with them and he seemed to be thoroughly enjoying it. 

Haruka and Michiru sat a table with Setsuna, talking low so as not to disturb the wondrous atmosphere. Christmas music played gently in the background. 

Minako laughed with Makoto while Kunzite and Nephrite read books. Ami and Zoisite were in a corner, playing their first game on Ami's new chessboard, given to her from Haruka and Michiru. Their story was that they saw it in a store over in England when they were patrolling and knew it was perfect for her. Her old one was very shabby from how many times she used to play it. The chessboard was a dark blue and light marble with white and black crystal chess pieces carved into what Rei figured was probably the right shapes. She knew nothing about chess, nor did she really care to. All she did was say it was pretty and that was the limit of her knowledge, but that was all right. Ami understood that. 

Hotaru lay on the floor, studying pictures of themselves in their younger years in the 20th century. She had begged Serenity and Endymion to bring it out this Christmas and the Royals had agreed. Luna, Artemis, and Diana had set up their own little party near another corner of the throne room shortly before and were talking quietly among themselves. They rejoined the larger group a few minutes later, smiling and happy. Diana threw herself down on the floor next to Chibiusa and joined her friend's conversation with Helios. 

The throne room was the only room big enough to house all the Senshi, the huge Christmas tree, the Royal Family, Luna and her family, Helios, and the Shitennou comfortably. They had covered the normally bare blue crystal floor with many thick and comfortable rugs to sit and lay on and had brought in one dark red wood table for their Christmas dinner which Makoto had made. Presents had been passed around and opened earlier that day. 

And Rei and Jadeite leaned against the wall, watching it all and saying nothing. In the end, the Kings had not remembered what they had done under Beryl's command and Setsuna reckoned that they never would. 

That was all right with everyone, for with their blank memories of past evil deeds, it felt like a fresh start for everyone. 

Endymion stood up and they looked at him. He cleared his throat and smiled. Kunzite and Nephrite looked up from their books, Nephrite's being one about the stars given to him from Minako, and Kunzite's was one about the various kinds of religion there was in the world, courtesy from Rei. She had discovered a small amount of interest in him about that subject when they had been dating for a short while. 

"I think that this is our one best Christmas together since the 20th century. Wouldn't you all agree?" he asked.

There was a chorus of soft cheers. Rei caught Serenity's eye. She pointedly looked out the window. Rei glanced over there as well and smiled. The image was extremely picturesque, she thought as conversation picked up around her. Snow fell from a cloudless night sky and covered Crystal Tokyo in a blanket of white.

@~~~~

Finished, finally! Do you like it? Email me if you do, Guardian4@atlantic.net. Put fanfiction in the subject line. 


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